


Hold on to What we Are

by Zoejoy24



Series: Unexpected [2]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Slow Burn, Still Can't Tag, Undercover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-19 01:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22003369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoejoy24/pseuds/Zoejoy24
Summary: There's a serial rapist targeting rich young women, and the team has every reason to believe he'll strike again.  The problem is the victims have no idea who he could be, and the only place their paths have crossed is at a high-end, very exclusive dinner party.  Good thing Malcolm has an in with the New York social scene, and Dani gets roped into attending as his date.  All they have to do is show up and see who else has been attending these parties.  There's no way it could go wrong...This takes place shortly after Unexpected.  You don't really need to read that to know what's going on, but please do anyways.Please see Author's Note for more info and warnings.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell
Series: Unexpected [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1583974
Comments: 30
Kudos: 166





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There are no actual descriptions of rape in this story, its just alluded to as part of the case. 
> 
> Not beta'd, all mistakes are mine (hopefully there aren't too many.)

“What do we got, Gil? No bodies, no crime scene?” Dani asked as the team gathered in their usual conference room.

“Nope, this one’s different. Three rapes in almost as many weeks, all of them women. Nicole Spencer, Avery Richards, Jocelyn Beck. All single. The only thing that seems to connect them is social circle. They’re all rich, high-profile, and none of them have any idea who they know that could possibly do such a thing,” Gil explained, sliding three file folders onto the table.

“A serial rapist?” Malcolm asked, perking up. “How do we know they are connected?”

“Same MO. Our suspect drugs them, brings them to a hotel room and rapes them, then leaves. Also, each of the victims attended a dinner party the evening of the attacks. It's likely this is where our suspect is finding his victims.”

“Do the victims have any idea who this guy might be?” JT asked.

“No, none of them remember anything about it.”

“How is that possible?” Dani asks. ”If he finds them at these parties, how does he get them away from everyone else to drug them?”

“Unless he drugs them before isolating them,” Malcolm suggests. “Do we know what drug he is using?”

“No, it seems that whatever it is has left their systems by the time they wake up in the morning. They each contacted the police shortly after realizing what had happened, but by the time they get blood drawn whatever it is is gone.”

“What do you think, Bright?” Dani pressed.

“Its possible he’s using a date rape drug, spiking their drinks or food. This would make it possible for him to get them alone without a struggle or drawing attention to himself, and they wouldn’t remember any of it.”

“Has anyone talked to the other people at the parties? Do we have any witness statements?” Malcolm asked.

“That’s the thing,” Gil said slowly. “From what the original detectives on the cases have been able to gather, these parties are extremely exclusive and secretive. No one knows who will be there until they arrive, and the guest list changes from week to week. The only way we are going to be able to figure out who may have been at any of these parties is by getting an in.” 

With that Gil looked pointedly at Malcolm, who was deep in thought, forehead creased in concentration. He must have noticed the silence first, then the fact that everyone was looking at him.

“What?”

“Access, Bright. To a high profile, socialite dinner party that know one knows anything about.” Gil explained.

Bright frowned. “And you want me to get us this access I’m assuming?”

Gil nodded.

“Hmm. Well I’m a little out of touch with the upper crust of New York. I’m going to have to ask my mother, and she’ll want to know why.”

“I’ll call Jessica, tell her what I can and ask for her help.” Gil offered.

“Great,” Malcolm responded with false enthusiasm. “I’ll make sure she’s home, then head over there.”

“JT, Dani, the case files are in my office. I want you to go over all the statements and evidence we have so far. Let’s see if there’s any information gaps or clues that were missed.”

“Got it, boss,” Dani said as they both rose and made their way out of the conference room. 

She gave Bright a consoling pat on the shoulder as she passed and whispered ‘good luck.’ He scowled in return. 

“I’m going to need it.”

***

"We’re sure our suspect is finding his victims at these high class dinner parties?" JT asked when they reconvened the next day.

"Yes," Malcolm confirmed. His tone was serious, subdued in a way he hadn’t been the day before when faced with the prospect of a new case. 

"The exclusive nature of the diners makes it extremely difficult to verify who attended and when their paths crossed. However, based on the timing of the assaults and the information my mother was able to provide, I believe there's a high possibility that this is what connects our victims and their rapist."

"Great, let's start running down the guest list," JT said.

"No guest list. No one knows who was there except for the people who were there," Malcolm replied. “The only way to get names is if our victims can remember who attended the evening they were assaulted, and see which names match up. Unfortunately whatever drug was used makes their memories of the evening extremely vague and uncertain, and each of them attended alone, so no dates to question, either.”

"Rich people are weird man. All this cloak and dagger shit for a dinner party?"

Malcolm shrugged. There were many, many reasons the ultra wealthy and elite of New York would want the chance to gather with near total anonymity, but he knew JT would not be interested in hearing about them.

"So, we have a lead, but we have no way to follow it?" Dani asked.

"Oh no, we have a way," Gil answered, looking pointedly at Malcolm. It was becoming a common occurrence on this case.

"My mother may have been able to get me on the invite list for the next dinner," Malcolm explained, clearly unhappy about the situation.

"So you're going to go undercover as yourself and figure out who our bad guy is?" JT guessed.

"Something like that. I’ll at least be able to get us a list of individuals to start looking at."

"Are we sure that's a good idea? What if our guy knows what you do? It's not exactly a secret," Dani pointed out.

"True, but it's also not a secret that my mother is desperately trying to get me more involved with her friends, and these dinners are essentially just high end networking opportunities."

"Exactly," Gil cut in. "All we need is eyes on the attendees. Once we know who is there we can begin to work on figuring out the rest. You don't need to ask any questions, just show up and do whatever rich people do."

Malcolm sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'm a bit out of practice with that, but I'm sure my mother will gladly give me some pointers."

"Won't you showing up now be a little suspicious? I mean, any party, anywhere, a guy randomly showing up alone always draws attention, good or bad," JT said. 

"True. We don't want to spook whoever our suspect is by being too obvious," Dani agreed.

"He’s not going alone," Gil interjected once more. He had a gleam in his eye that was rather disconcerting and Malcolm sensed that he was feeling a twisted sort of glee in regards to the whole situation. 

"Dani is going with."

"What?" Malcolm asked, eyes widening in surprise. 

"Gil, no way," Dani exclaimed at the same time.

JT just laughed, suddenly sharing in Gil's glee.

"I want Bright to have back-up just in case, and it will be good to have an actual officer on site. We'll be right outside of course."

"Gil, this is, I mean, I don't," Dani floundered, searching for the words to describe why this was a bad idea.

Malcolm remained quiet, his expression conflicted as he looked from Dani to Gil. He didn’t want to say it out loud, but if they encountered their suspect, having Dani with him would likely give him the opportunity to recognize him based on his interactions with her. He would not even entertain the idea of using Dani as bait in any way, but her presence alone would increase his chances of identifying the rapist.

“Bright, you good with this?” Dani asked, pulling Malcolm from his thoughts.

“What? Oh, yeah. I think it's a good plan,” he agreed distractedly.

Dani huffed in frustration.

“Now you’re interested in back-up?” she muttered quietly. 

Gil chuckled. “Don’t worry, Dani. I’m sure Jessica would be more than happy to give you some pointers as well,” he assured her, trying and failing to hide a smile.  
Both Dani and Malcolm looked horrified for a moment, though Malcolm’s expression quickly morphed into one of consideration.

Dani noticed this and groaned, dropping her head into her hand.

“Just stand there and look pretty. How hard can it be?” JT said.

Dani gave him a death stare. “I don’t do the whole ‘arm candy’ thing well.”

“Who says you’ll be the arm candy?” Malcolm asked, wagging his eyebrows comically in an attempt to lighten the mood of the room.

It worked, to an extent, as Dani let out a surprised little laugh, relaxing slightly.

“Look, this is the best play we have,” Gil said sternly. “We already have three victims. It's possible we’ll end up with a fourth unless the two of you are able to ID this guy in one night. We need to do whatever it takes to stop this guy, and the two of you going to this dinner is what it takes.”

The three team members nodded, mood suddenly more serious. Dani especially squared her shoulders, accepting her new assignment for what it was--a chance, their only chance, to stop a rapist.

***

Later that day Dani found Malcolm in the conference room once more, three case files spread open before him, chin resting on folded fingers as he looked blankly across the room.

“You good, Bright?” she asked, popping her head in.

He jumped slightly, startled, and looked up at her in surprise.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just looking over the case files again,” he replied. 

He sounded worn down, and there was a haunted look in his eyes. It wasn’t an uncommon look for him, but something prompted Dani to push a little further, entering the room fully to sit next to him at the table.

“Find anything useful?”

“Not really. I’m trying to get a read on his victims, to find out what drew him to them. They’re all young, pretty. Rich, obviously. Promising careers. They remind me…” he trailed off, but Dani saw that he’d been gently running his fingers over the picture of Nicole.  
He’d been right, she was pretty. Blonde, petite, eyes bright and sharp. Dani frowned slightly as she realized she looked familiar. Like Ainsley.

“Of Ainsley?” she asked quietly.

Malcolm gave her a sharp glance, his expression guarded for a moment, but then he nodded. “I just keep thinking about how easily it could have been her, about what I would do... I mean, she doesn’t really attend these types of things, she’s like me that way, but she’s just his type. God, if anything ever happened to her, I think I’d lose my mind for good. All these women had families, too. We can’t let him do this again.”

“We won’t. You won’t. You’ll know it’s him as soon as you see him, and we’ll stop him. I know it.”

Malcolm smiled at her. It was tired, a little sad, but not forced. Her firm belief in him bolstered his own spirits and helped to pull him from the dark hole of doubt and concern he’d let himself slip into.

“Thank you, Dani. For listening, for being there when I need you. I appreciate it.”

She didn’t say anything, just knocked her shoulder into his before standing, ruffling his perfectly parted hair, because she could and it drove him crazy, and walking out of the room.

***

“Phase one of our plan is complete,” Malcolm announced two days later as he walked into the conference room where the rest of the team was already gathered, per Gil’s orders.

“I received a formal invitation, and the date of the next dinner. They won’t be announcing the location until the day of, though.”

“Which means we won’t be able to set up any additional surveillance on-site,” Gil concluded.

“Correct. It’s just you and me, Dani!” Malcolm exclaimed, a little manic.

“When are we doing this?” she asked, less enthused.

“Friday. We have five days to prepare.”

“All right. JT and I will keep working through the evidence and statements from the victims. I want the two of you to work together on a back story and getting your roles down. Dani, we have a basic cover for you to learn and use night of. Bright, try to find out from Jessica how much these people are likely to know about your work, and build a cover story from there. Let’s catch this son of a bitch.”

With that Gil stalked out of the room, JT following after him at a more sedate pace.

Malcolm watched them go with a slight frown creasing his forehead. Gil always took his job seriously, but he was under a lot of pressure with this one, and the fact that there was a real possibility that they wouldn’t be able to catch their suspect before he struck again was making his especially irritable. 

Dani stood with a sigh. “I guess I’ll go run down that cover story, start studying.”

“Uh, actually, I had a thought.”

“Okay…”

“I asked my mother if she could come up with a list of possible attendees and run through it with me. Well, with us, if you’re willing to go. As loathe as I am to admit, she is much more in touch with the upper echelons of New York society than I am, and I could use her help.”

Dani looked sceptical, not that Malcolm blamed her.

“I also asked her to meet me at my apartment, rather than at the house. I thought that may be comfortable for you. Although I suppose I could have her come here, instead.”

“No, that’s fine,” Dani assured him. “It’s a good plan. We’ll be able to focus more somewhere off site, I think. When is she meeting us?”

“After lunch. She wanted to do it earlier, have her chef accompany her and cook something for us, but I thought that might be a step too far.”

“Good thinking,” Dani affirmed.

Malcolm smiled sheepishly, aware that Dani thought his mother’s, and even occasionally his, lavish lifestyles were ridiculous.

“Anyways, that gives us a couple of hours yet to do… whatever.”

“Great. Uh, maybe we could grab take out, head to your place early and go over our covers?” Dani suggested. 

She was trying to remain nonchalant, professional, but suddenly the reality of the situation was starting to set in.

The last time she’d been to Malcolm’s apartment had been interesting, to say the least. He’d been robbed, beat up, and left at a bar. She’d brought him home and cleaned him up. As the evening progressed she’d found herself experience a shocking shift of emotions. 

She’d been angry at first, furious that anyone would attack Malcolm in the first place, and that the officers who had been sent to investigate had not done a very good job. She’d rectified that, calling in a favor to ensure that the three men who had mugged Bright had been brought in and charged. 

Once the anger had subsided, she’d moved on to concern for his well being. She’d thought it was a professional concern, that of one coworker for another. But when she’d found herself helping him to bed, she realized it may have been more than that, found herself thinking of him in ways she hadn’t before.

Things had been confusing since then, but not uncomfortable as she’d feared they might be. Their relationship hadn’t changed much, for better or worse, and that suited her fine. She wasn’t ready to examine her feelings any more at the moment and was happy with the friendship that was developing between them. 

“Lunch sounds great! I can’t wait to see what cover story they’ve got for you. This could be fun!” Malcolm agreed, his face lighting up at the project. 

He’d clearly been nervous about suggesting his plan to her, and she couldn’t help but smile at his excitement and enthusiasm about her agreement with his plan.

“Alright. You’re in charge of food, I’ll get the documents and meet you at your place.”

***

Dani had to admit that Bright’s apartment looked much less gothic and intimidating in the mid-morning light. She’d been there in the morning once before, but she’d been pretty out of it after sleeping on a bar stool. The weapons display and huge art pieces were still odd, but they fit the space and Bright’s personality well.

Sunshine chirped happily at her as she walked in, and Dani smiled at the small bird, still somewhat of an enigma to her, the birds bright coloring and lively chattering a cheery contrast to the rest of the space.

“You’re going to have to tell me about this bird someday,” she told Bright, walking up to where several take out containers were spread across his kitchen island.

“Sure, someday,” Bright agreed noncommittally. 

Dani shook her head. How could a silly bird be Bright’s biggest secret?

“Is this okay?” Bright asked, gesturing at the spread of food.

“Looks perfect, I’m starving.”

“Great! Let’s eat!” he replied, handing her a plate.

Dani slapped a nondescript file folder down on the counter. “Here’s my cover. I haven’t looked at it yet, so we’ll get to discover our new relationship together,” she said, then grimaced slightly at how awkward it had sounded once she’d said the words.

Malcolm didn’t seem to notice, too busy scooping food onto his plate to do more than give the folder a casual glance.

“Sounds fun. Hopefully it's nothing too complicated.”

“Yep,” Dani agreed, then shoved a forkful of food into her mouth to avoid having to say more.

They were silent for a few moments, Malcolm eating mostly vegetables and a little chicken, doing more picking at his food than actual eating.

Dani hadn’t been lying when she said she was starving and went after her lunch with much more enthusiasm. 

Finally, Malcolm put his fork down across his plate, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. Dani could see his hand shaking slightly, a sure sign of nerves with him.

“So,” he began hesitantly. “I’m guessing that the best play for us here is to go as a couple, right? Like, on a date?”

Dani swallowed her food, amused by his uncertainty. “Yes Bright. Like on a date. It will make the most sense. I’m sure whatever is in here,” she patted the folder “will be good enough to convince people that we would be there as a couple.”

“Right. Yes. I guess we’ll have to work out the details. Maybe after my mother has left,” he mused, mouth pinched. He did not want his mother honing in on any awkwardness between them caused by a potentially difficult conversation about their fake relationship.

Malcolm knew that Dani liked him alright as a person, and even respected him as a Profiler despite his unconventional approach and frequent breaches of protocol. There had been a trust building between them over the past several months; he trusted her to take care of him when he needed it, and she trusted him to respect her wishes and her space when she needed that, too.

But this undercover thing was bound to take their relationship in a different direction. Whatever cover they had wouldn’t be real, but there was every possibility that it may begin to imitate reality a little too much for comfort. He hadn’t been completely coherent the night she’d rescued him from the bar, but he wasn’t out of it enough to miss the way her gaze had lingered and the way he’d reacted to her touch. There was something more developing between them and this case had the potential to bring it to light sooner rather than later.

Dani was watching him speculatively, all the while continuing to eat. She seemed far less concerned about the situation than he was. But then again she was much better at hiding her emotions and remaining level headed in situations that tended to leave Malcolm more emotionally strung out. He tried not to profile her these days, knowing that she didn’t like it when he did, but he caved this one, taking in the way she couldn’t keep her leg still and the fingers on her left hand that she kept drumming against the table. She was nervous, too, probably for the same reasons he was. She’d done much more intense undercover work before, so he doubted that the assignment itself would phase her. 

She caught him staring and arched an eyebrow, daring him to say a single word about his observations.

“Why don’t we look through this cover story now?” she finally suggested, pushing her plate away and pulling over the folder.

“Great idea. Let’s do that,” Malcolm agreed, taking a seat on the stool next to her so he could read over the file along with her.

It wasn’t overly complicated, as it didn’t need to stand up to much scrutiny beyond small talk. She was from D.C., daughter of a wealthy lawyer, Harvard graduate like Malcolm, currently spending time traveling on daddy’s dollar before starting on her own path to becoming a lawyer. The story gave them flexibility when it came to working in details of where they’d met and when they’d started dating, depending on what Malcolm planned on telling people he was doing these days. Which would largely depend on how much his mother thought people might know about his recent work history.

There were other little details to remember, family names and important events and places in her fake life, and they both started in on learning them all, quizzing each other and turning it into a competition to see who could learn the cover story best and quickest.

They both knew the cover backwards and forwards by the time Malcolm's buzzer rang, announcing the arrival of his mother. Malcolm's eyes grew wide in panic as he looked over the mess from their lunch that was still left on the counter. Dani closed the file and stood, grabbing their plates.

"Go buzz her in, I'll clean this up."

"Thank you. She wants me to eat but is scandalized by the site of dirty dishes," he explained ruefully.

"Mothers," Dani added flatly, and Malcolm laughed.

He had a feeling their mothers were very different people.

She rang once more and he could practically feel her exasperation at having to wait from where he stood. "Mother, is that you?" he asked through the intercom, enjoying the opportunity to annoy her. 

"Of course it is, Malcolm. Let me in before I break my promise and use my key."

He smiled deviously as he buzzed her in. Sometimes it was just too easy. He could hear her heels clacking on the stairs and decided that making her knock on his door would be a step too far, so he opened it and waited to greet her.

"Mother, thank you for coming. Your help on this case has been invaluable," he said, leaning in to kiss her cheek in apology for teasing her at the door. 

She swatted his shoulder, but smiled as she walked into his apartment. 

"How could I refuse New York City's finest? Besides, now I'm guaranteed to have the juiciest details when the story breaks," she smirked.

Malcolm shook his head, closing the door behind her.

"Mother, have you met Detective Powell?"

"Dani is fine, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Whitly," Dani said, offering her hand.

"Only if you call me Jessica."

The two women shook hands, then Malcolm gestured towards the couch. "Shall we?"

***

Malcolm was pleasantly surprised--shocked, even--at how well the meeting with his mother went. She was extremely helpful and rarely sarcastic. He knew that she disapproved of his work, and expected a certain amount of passive-aggressive push-back when he’d asked her to help, but he’d been wrong. Perhaps it was because he’d stressed to her the importance of catching him before he could strike again, or maybe she’d seen the same similarities between the victims and Ainsley that he had. Whatever the reason, he could not have been more pleased at the end of the day when they’d finished their meeting.

Jessica had suggested a number of people who she suspected were likely to attend or who had possible attended in the past. She’d also admitted to Malcolm that she told very few people what he did or even where he’d been the past 10 years, usually sticking to generalities and rarely telling the same story twice. It was possible that Malcolm’s name had been mentioned in news reports about their cases, but she assured them that it was doubtful that anyone at the party would have read or watched such things, anyways.

Just before she left, Jessica pulled Dani to the side and they had a quiet conversation that Malcolm couldn’t quite make out. He watched Dani’s face warily, wondering if he would need to intervene, but her reaction to whatever his mother had to say was a positive one, and they both walked away smiling.

“What was that all about, mother?” he asked under his breath as he walked Jessica to the door.

“Oh nothing dear, just offering to help in any other way I can,” she assured him. She stopped at the door, resting a hand on his arm and studying his face for a moment with a considering look in her eyes. “Dani seems like a very nice girl. Be careful, Malcolm. I’d hate to see either of you get hurt,” she finally said, voice pitched low.

“What?” Malcolm replied, but his mother had already begun walking down the stairs.

He closed the door with a frown, trying to fathom what his mother could possibly have been hinting at with her parting words.

“Well, that was a lot more informative than I thought it would be,” Dani said, pulling him from his thoughts.

She was standing in the kitchen, gathering her things, and didn’t seem at all surprised or unsettled by whatever his mother had told her, but he still couldn’t help but ask, “What did my mother want to talk to you about?”

Dani snorted, shaking her head at him.

“Always so paranoid, Bright. You should cut her some slack, she was lovely. She offered to meet with me, one-on-one, to go over any other questions I may have. I think it was her way of saying she would teach me how to blend in with your type of crowd.

“Oh, that was nice. Are you going to go?”

“I think I will. When Gil first mentioned it I wasn’t interested, at all. But she seemed genuinely interested in helping us with this case.”

“I agree. I admit I expected a bit more resistance,” Malcolm admitted.

“Well, I’m going to head home. Let me know when you have your new life story straight, and we can iron out the rest of the details.”

“Sounds good, Dani. Enjoy the rest of your evening,” Malcolm said as he walked her to the door.

“You too, Bright. Don’t work too hard. I know this case is, well, different. Take a break if you need too, don’t let that brain of yours take you down a path you don’t need to take,” Dani urged.

Malcolm gave her a lopsided grin. “I thought my mother already left,” he joked.

Dani smiled back, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “She did. Now you're stuck dealing with your friend, who cares about you,” she replied, reaching up to cup his cheek in her hand for just a moment before turning to leave.

“Good night, Bright.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story just keeps getting longer and longer, and I was hoping to just post one more chapter to finish the whole thing, but the second chapter is already longer than the first so I decided I'd split it up. Hopefully, chapter three is the last chapter, and will be posted within the week!

“Are you ready for this?”

It was Friday evening, and Malcolm and Dani were standing in his apartment, waiting for the car that would take them to the dinner party.

Unsurprisingly, Dani was the calmer the two of them, and she watched Malcolm closely while waiting for his answer.

He’d been fidgeting, playing with his cuffs and pacing in front of the door, but he stilled when she spoke, glancing at her sheepishly as he realized how obvious his nerves were.

“I am. Really. I don’t even know why I’m so nervous,” he admitted.

“There’s a lot at stake. I get it, it makes sense that you’re nervous. Besides, these are your people. You’re not pretending to be someone you’re not, not like me. You don’t have a cover to hide behind.”

Malcolm stared at her, mouth falling open in surprise as she spoke directly to the root of his problem.

“What?” Dani asked, eyebrow raised.

“Are you sure you don’t have training as a profiler?” Malcolm asked finally. “That was… very insightful.”

Dani snorted. “Please. You’re not as mysterious as you think you are, Bright. It doesn’t take a profiler to figure out what’s going on in your head.”

“Ha. You’re right, that requires much, more more education than either of us possess,” he joked, though it fell flat.

Dani rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. Now, relax. Let’s go over things one more time” she suggested.

Malcolm took a deep breath, shaking his arms and head to release some of his nervous tension.

“Right. I’ve been working for the government in the D.C. area since graduating. Nothing exciting, mostly desk work, I can’t get into the details.”

“And we met through a mutual acquaintance while you were there. I was seeing someone at the time, but he broke it off and I moved here. We decided to see if there was something between us, and have been dating for three months.”

“Right, and you are not currently working, because your mother wants you to be available to travel with her this summer.”

Dani laughed. “Yes, only rich people get to not work so they can travel instead. Good thing Daddy’s got deep pockets.”

“Hey, it sounds legit, and you don’t have to pretend to know anything about law or finance this way.”

“True, true. How long till the car is here?”

“Any second now,” Malcolm replied, checking his phone, his hand nearly steady now.

Dani had been right on the money when she’d described the reasons for his nerves, but she’d missed one of the main reasons. 

Her.

She looked, quite simply, gorgeous. She was wearing an elegant evening gown that fit her perfectly. Despite having grown up living with two women who took their appearances very seriously, he didn’t know much about women’s fashion himself. He couldn’t say who the designer was or even what the cut or style was. It was black, lacy, with a halter top that left her shoulders and back bare. 

The only other time he’d seen her in anything but a practical practical pair of pants and top was the night they’d gone to Desir’s club--and most of that evening was a blur in his mind thanks to the drugs that had exploded in his face--and it almost felt as if she were a different Dani, one from some sort of alternate universe where she attended this sort of high class event all the time. She was so poised, always comfortable in her own skin in a way most girls weren’t, especially when taken out of their comfort zone.

As he considered the real reason for his nerves, he realized that there was one important aspect of their cover that he’d meant to discuss with her that he hadn’t gotten around to mentioning yet.

“Dani, I…” he began. 

His phone chimed, and he looked to see that it was their driver announcing his arrival.

“Rides here,” he explained. “I’ll uh, tell you in the car.”

Dani nodded and took a calming breath, the only sign she’d shown of any nerves she may be experiencing.

Malcolm opened his door and swept out his arm in a grand gesture. “After you, my dear.”

Dani snorted but walked through, not waiting for him as he locked up. He rushed to catch up to her, beating her to the car and opening the door for her.

She gave him a withering stare. “Is this how it's going to be all evening?”

“You bet! My mother would have a fit if she found I out wasn’t the perfect gentleman this evening.” 

“Well then, I’ll allow it. For your mother’s sake,” Dani acquiesced. 

Malcolm knew that Dani had met with his mother at least once--and that was something he did NOT want to dwell on too deeply--in order to help her strengthen her cover story even more. Dani had not been forthcoming with any details about their meeting, and he was just glad she was still speaking to him after the experience.

“What were you going to say? Back in the apartment?” Dani asked quietly as the car pulled away from the curb.

Malcolm pursed his lips, considering his words carefully. “I wanted to ask you about boundaries,” he explained.

“Boundaries?”

“Yes, for this evening. I want to know what you’re comfortable with, as far as our relationship is concerned.”

“Our relationship?” Dani parroted back at him.

Malcolm sighed. He suspected she was playing with him, or perhaps he was more worried than he needed to be and this wasn’t even an issue for her.

“I’d like to know what you are okay with, physically. I’m assuming we’d be fairly comfortable with each other after dating for three months, but I don’t want to overstep any boundaries you may have just for the sake of our cover.”

“Malcolm Bright, you are a gentleman, aren’t you?” Dani asked with a laugh. “I’ve known guys who went as far as they possibly could on the first date, and here you are wondering if you can hold my hand tonight?”

“Well I assumed that much,” he muttered.

“Look, just don’t grab my butt, or shove your tongue down my throat, and we’ll be fine.”

Malcolm spluttered, looking offended at the implication that he would do either.

“I trust you,” Dani continued, “and we both need to be able to act natural. If there’s something I’m not comfortable with, I’ll just tell you. Alright?”

Malcolm nodded. “Yeah, okay. Sounds good. Although, if you wanted to grab my butt, I’d be okay with that,” he added as an afterthought, deciding it was his turn to have a little fun at Dani’s expense.

She let out a shocked bark of laughter before choking on nothing but air, slapping him on the shoulder repeatedly as she fought to regain her breath.

“I take back what I said about you being a gentlemen,” she finally managed to say, but she was smiling.

“Just please don’t tell my mother,” Malcolm begged, smiling back.

***

Dani’s pulse quickened as their car pulled up to their destination, adrenaline spiking as it often did on cases when she was hunting down the bad guy. Their approach this time was less direct than normal, but the end goal was the same.

Their driver opened her door for her, and Malcolm offered her his arm as they walked inside. He gave her a sly grin, still teasing. She responded with a raised eyebrow, but took his arm. No more eye rolling or joking about out-dated manners, she reminded herself. It was time to assume the role of a wealthy woman who was used to being catered too by everyone around her.

The dinner was being held at a high-end restaurant on the top floor of a swanky hotel. She and Malcolm had been given the location 4 hours before they were set to arrive, and while it didn’t leave much time to set anything up inside, Gil and JT had managed to put together an acceptable security detail surrounding the building, with a team ready to infiltrate or follow a suspect at a moments notice. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the best they could do with such short notice. 

If all went well, there wouldn’t be any issues requiring the security team to step in until they were ready to make their arrest. Earlier that week, she and Malcolm had gone over what their play was for the evening, their plan of attack to weed out their bad guy before he struck again.

"The best way for me to profile him will be to see him in action, up close and personal. I need you there to be able to do that,” he’d explained. “He won't approach me as a predator, but he could potentially approach you that way. I won’t be able to see that side of him unless you’re close by when he does, so it's best if we stick together as much as possible." 

“And what exactly are we looking for? What gives someone away as a serial rapist?”

“Based on the commonalities between the three assaults and the lack of additional physical violence against the victims, I think our suspect is a power-seeking rapist. He feels the need to exert dominance through rape, but isn’t overly violent or sadistic. He’ll be confident, suave, inconspicuous.”

“So how will we know who it is, if he isn’t suspicious?”

“He’s compensating. He may be there with an overbearing partner, or he may be more confident in himself than he should be. Someone who isn’t attractive, but acts like he is. He has to have some physical strength to control these women once they are drugged, but he may be fairly small in stature. When you know what to look for, the signs are more obvious. I’m confident in our chances. Also, he’ll likely stay sober the whole evening, but he may gravitate to those who aren’t. If his victim is intoxicated already it will make it more difficult for bystanders to notice she’s been drugged.”

“Won’t he get suspicious if you’re going around trying to figure everyone out?” JT asked.

“From what our victims have told us, these dinners are social gatherings, networking events. These people are there to see, be seen, and make connections,” Gil explained.

“That’s right. Some people go for business purposes, to meet with potential partners or buyers or sellers without sparking any rumors or speculation,” Malcolm added. “There’s likely to be politicians in attendance as well for similar reasons. And some people attend solely to build their social network. That’s why Dani and I will be there. As long as we don’t push too hard we shouldn’t draw any attention to ourselves.”

It should be easy, really; as long as the questions they asked weren’t too pointed, and they were careful to pay equal attention to each person they encountered rather than fixating on the most likely suspects.

They were directed to an elevator by one of the doormen as the entered. It was empty, and had only one button. “Seriously?” Dani muttered. “It’s like something out of a Bond movie.”

“They’re more realistic than you think,” Malcolm murmured.

She raised an eyebrow, incredulous. He chuckled, shaking his head in admission. “Well, some parts.”

He’d settled down during the ride over, in fact it felt as if their roles had reversed. He was cool and collected, comfortable in one of the same expensive suits he wore on a regular basis, not at all surprised by how extra the whole set-up was. She was nervous, now, feeling out of her element for the first time. 

Malcolm had extricated his arm from her’s when they’d entered the elevator to push the single button and get the elevator moving. As they rode up, he rested it on her lower back, rubbing one small circle before letting it settle just above her opposite hip.

“It’s going to be fine,” he said softly.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw that he was blushing every so softly. She smiled, and though she kept both hands in front of her, holding a small red clutch, she did lean into him ever so slightly.

“It’s going to be something, that’s for sure.”

***

There were at least two dozen people already present in the restaurant when they arrived, gathered in groups of varying sizes throughout the lounge area, seated on couches set around low tables, or at higher bar style tables and stools scattered throughout.

“Now what?” Dani whispered as they walked off the elevator and made their way into the room. Several people looked their way, but most spared them only a brief, curious glance before returning to whatever had been occupying their attention before.

Only two people, a man and a woman, left their seats and came to greet them. They were older, upper 60’s Malcolm thought. They wore their age well, though; both had gray hair they weren’t trying to hide, laugh lines and crow's feet around their mouths and eyes. Confident, nothing to prove. He mentally placed the man in his ‘probably not the bad guy’ column..

“Malcolm Bright, I presume?” the man asked with a smile as they approached, offering his hand.

Malcolm took it, matching the man’s firm grip with his own. “That’s correct, and this is my girlfriend, Danielle. I’m sorry, I don’t believe I know you?”

The man’s smile remained. “We’ve met, but it was years ago, I’m not surprised you don’t remember. You can call me Ralph, and this is my wife, Sandra.”

“Nice to meet you,” Dani said, shaking first Sandra’s hand once. Ralph did not shake, but rather brought the back of her hand to his lips, the gesture old-fashioned but he managed to pull it off thanks to his age and charm.

“It's a pleasure to have you both here,” Ralph continued. “I’ll be your unofficial host for the evening. Please, join us.” He gestured towards the others, I can make some introductions if you’d like?”

“That would be great, I’m a little out of the loop,” Malcolm admitted as they made their way back to where Ralph and Sandra had been sitting before he and Dani had arrived.

“Well, these evenings are all about making connections. You’ve come to the right place.”

***

Ralph spent the next 30 minutes walking them around the room, making introductions and engaging each group in a bit of small talk before moving on. By the time they’d made the rounds more people had arrived, and Raph left Malcolm and Dani to greet the newcomers. Malcolm was glad for the opportunity to step away and regroup, guiding Dani towards the bar in the back of the room with a tilt of his head and a gentle push of his hand on her hip.

For all the worrying he’d done over the physicality of their roles, once they’d arrived he hadn’t given it much thought, interacting with Dani in whatever way felt most natural at any given moment, and she had responded in kind; a touch to his shoulder, grabbing his hand or arm as they walked, leaning into him or wrapping a hand around his waist. As long as he wasn’t thinking about it, it didn’t even register.

But as they made their way to the bar and he began to sort through all the introductions and interactions they’d had so far, he realized a large part of his recolations were made up of moments between him and Dani rather than sorting out potential suspects. And that was not helpful.

“Bright, you good?” Dani whispered, poking him in the side to get his attention.

Malcolm jumped, skipping away from her with a yelp.

Dani threw him an unimpressed look, raising an eyebrow at him and making a poor attempt to cover a smile with one hand. “You’re that ticklish, really?” she asked.

Malcolm blushed slightly, keeping his arms close to his side defensively. “Maybe, don’t make it a big thing,” he admitted.

Dani stepped in close to him once more, but as she moved to loop her arm around his he skitted away once more, eyeing her suspiciously. 

“Malcolm, I won’t do it again, I promise. Come back, it’s fine,” she promised, holding her hand out to him, smiling disarmingly. 

He complied, taking her hand once more, but continuing to throw suspicious looks her way as they walked once more towards the bar, earning a chuckle from her each time he did.

“Ah, young love. So sweet.”

The bar was occupied by one other person, a man maybe a decade older than Malcolm. He had one drink in front of him already, and seemed to be waiting for the bartender to finish another. He was watching them as they approached, an amused smirk playing over his lips.

“Ah, yes, sorry. We uh…. I don’t think we’ve met,” Malcolm replied, somewhat thrown off by the man’s odd observation. It wasn’t true, he recognized the man but couldn’t remember why.

“Yes, I arrived just as Ralph was whisking the two of you away for introductions. I decided I’d like to start the evening off right.” He gestured towards the glass in front of him. “I’m Jason King, and you are Malcolm Whitly.”

“Bright,” Dani corrected, taking a half step forward. “Malcolm Bright.” King’s expression darkened slightly at that, and he started to speak again.

“It seems my reputation has preceded me,” Malcolm said, tone neutral, interrupting whatever reply Jason had planned. 

He slipped his hand around Dani’s arm, pulling her back slightly, trying to remind her to reign in her mama bear instincts through the touch. She seemed to understand, leaning back into him slightly without actually backing away from King.

“Yes, well, I apologize if I misspoke. I know your mother, and seeing as she still goes by Whitly I made an assumption.”

“No need to apologize, I understand. This is Danielle, my girlfriend. She is… very protective of me.”

“Force of habit,” Dani explained, her tone lighter. “Not everyone is as accepting of the Whity name.”

The bartender returned, finally, with another drink, and King stood, throwing a bill on the bar and grabbing both glasses.  
“Well, I better get back. I’m sure I’ll see you around,” he said, then left.

Malcolm gave Dani a look.

“What? He was a jerk,” she said, as if it was obvious.

“It was an honest mistake, one that will probably happen again tonight. Just, try not to bite off too many heads, okay?”

“Fine,” she mumbled, before turning to the bartender with a thousand watt smile to order a drink.

Malcolm sighed, running a hand through his hair, holding up two fingers to indicate he’d take the same.

Dani took a seat on one of bar stools, turning to look back over at the dinner guests.

“Anyone pushing your buttons yet?” she asked quietly.

“Not yet, but I need to gather my thoughts, which is why I wanted to get away for a moment. It's a lot of information to process,” Malcolm explained. He was trying very hard not to notice how the slit in Dani’s dress had fallen open enough to reveal one long, toned leg. A lot of women he’d encountered at events like these knew exactly the effect they could have on the men around them, and situated each part of their bodies in precisely the right way to ensure that they did. Dani was not one of those women. She wasn’t trying to put on a show, she was just being herself, and it was enough. He couldn’t even imagine what would happen if she did try. She’d be irresistible. 

He leaned against the bar, closing his eyes to help with his focus. He could not afford to let himself be distracted by Dani. His co-worker. Who trusted him to behave like a gentleman, not like a school boy.

He ran through each introduction in his head, recalling facial expressions, how partners had interacted with one another, any marked differences between the way a man greeted him versus how he’d greeted Dani. So far, nothing stuck out. 

“There are a few I’m nearly certain are not our guy,” he told her, opening his eyes. 

She handed him his drink, apparently the bartender had come and gone while he’d been lost in thought. He gave her the names, and she nodded in agreement.

“What do you think? Any gut feelings? First impressions and intuition are usually pretty reliable.”

“Not really,” Dani replied. “Other than King, and I’m pretty sure he’s just a jerk.”

“Yeah, he was too confrontational to be our guy. Most likely, at least. But we’ll keep an eye on him. Ready to head back?”

“Let’s do this.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dani and Malcolm are out of time. If they can't identify their suspect now, it will be too late. But there's a key piece to the profile that Malcolm missed, and suddenly the stakes are higher than either of them ever thought they would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This... is so long. I'm so sorry. But, it also has all the action and excitement that the first two chapters were building up to, so at least there is that.
> 
> There are some brief mentions of attempted rape although it isn't graphic at all and is really only hinted at. But, just so you know, it is there.

The first part of the evening was meant to be informal, and Dani even suspected that the guests had been given different arrival times in order to add to the mystery of the evening. It was an ideal setting for interacting with as many different people as possible. As they walked back from the bar, Dani and Malcolm were called over by a middle-aged woman, one of the handful of people present who Malcolm had actually seemed to know already when they’d been introduced. She was with her husband and there was a group of 5 others gathered around them, a few of whom she and Malcolm hadn’t yet met. It was as good a place to start as any.

“Malcolm, dear, it is so good to see you. I’m so glad your mother finally convinced you to join us,” the woman--Katherine, Dani recalled--greeted, grabbing Malcolm’s free hand and holding it between both of hers, looking incredibly sincere.

“Well, she is a hard woman to say ‘no’ to,” Malcolm replied, smiling cordially. He slipped his hand free of her grip and into his pocket.

“That’s for damn sure,” Katherine’s husband Mitchell said. “I’m surprised you held out this long.”

“Well, I’ve been busy.”

“Of course, and you’re still getting settled back in I’m sure. Malcolm just recently moved back to the city,” Katherine explained to the group at large.

“Where were you living before?” one of the younger women who they hadn’t met yet asked.

“D.C. For about 10 years. It's where Danielle and I met,” Malcolm answered, giving Dani a sweet little smile, which she returned. She was sure they both looked disgustingly sappy, but that was the goal.

“What brought you back here?” the same woman asked.

“Work, family. Several things. Sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.”

The woman beamed at him, offering her hand as she prepared to introduce herself, but then Katherine cut her off.  
“Oh how rude of me, I should have made introductions.”

The girls smile fell as Katherine introduced both of them to the group at large, then filled them in on the names and occupations of the people they hadn’t met earlier. It was clear the older woman enjoyed being the center of their social circle, and that the younger woman, Claire, didn’t appreciate having the spotlight stolen from her. Dani tried hard to hide a smile. She’d never been one for feminine drama, but it always amused her to no end to watch the way other women danced around each other, competing for attention.

“So, Danielle, you met Malcolm in D.C.? What brought you here, then?” 

“Oh, same as Malcolm. Family. Work. Working for family,” Dani replied, avoiding specifics when possible. 

The conversation continued along the same lines, surface level questions floating around the group that Dani was sure held a much deeper meaning than she probably knew as those gathered felt each other out, looking for weaknesses they could exploit or strengths they could somehow take advantage of. She was paying close attention to their interactions as well, but for a different reason, observing the few men in their group and the way they held themselves as she engaged them in conversation, looking for the signs Malcolm had described to her. 

Because of this, she didn’t notice at first that Claire had positioned herself close to Malcolm’s other side until the woman giggled, loudly, and Dani realized how close she was. Malcolm had turned away from her slightly, drawn into a separate conversation with Claire and one other woman. Dani didn’t think much of it until a new person joined their group. They’d already lost and gained a couple other individuals as they’d talked, but there was something about his guy that caught her attention even before he joined them. 

He was alone, meandering along the edges of different groups, never quite fitting into any of them. He wasn’t out of place--his suit was just as nice as everyone else's, his hair perfect, a fancy watch flashing on his wrist. He was just, off. Average sized, maybe a little overweight but not obese. She’d kept her eye on him, and when he came to hover on the outskirts of her conversation she purposefully drew him in, making eye contact and directing comments towards him. It worked, and soon he was a part of their little group. He seemed to know a couple of the other guests she’d been talking too, though no one had introduced him yet. Despite this, once he’d been brought into the conversation, he seemed eager to dominate it. He cracked jokes, but they fell flat, some of them crude, others just strange. He clearly thought of himself as important, but no one else seemed to share quite the same high view. He made her uncomfortable, but she wasn’t sure what to do about it, and turned to Malcolm for some sort of hint on how to proceed.

He wasn’t paying attention. His back was to her, and she noticed then that Claire had one perfectly manicured hand resting on his forearm, and she would lean forward when she laughed (and was Bright really that funny), giving Malcolm a great view down the front of her dress. Dani did give him credit for not being so far gone as to take the bait, but still. They had a job to do, and it had nothing to do with Claire. She reached out to tug slightly on his free arm, but he didn’t seem to notice. She pursed her lips, trying not to be too obvious about getting his attention. Then, it occurred to her that maybe she should be obvious… 

She gave the hand on Malcolm’s arm one last pointed look, and she knew that her glare was obvious enough that others had noticed as well. One of the men she’d been talking to even winced in sympathy, and she almost smiled at his reaction. He’d clearly been in a similar situation and knew what was coming. Malcolm was still clueless. 

“Excuse me,” she muttered to no one in particular before turning her full attention to her fake boyfriend.

She tightened her grip on his arm, digging her albeit short nails in just a tad for added effect.

“Malcolm,” she hissed, just loud enough for it not to be subtle.

He startled a bit, and seemed to notice both her hand on his arm and Claire’s at the same time, his eyes widening as he glanced briefly between the two of them before, wisely, pulling free of Claire’s grip. 

“Would you like to fill me in on whatever fascinating conversation you seem to be having here?” she asked sharply. He floundered, clearly confused although it came across as guilty, which worked just as well.

“Or perhaps you’d care to actually pay attention to me,” she suggested, lowering her voice and pulling him in close, giving a pointed look to the side where her potential suspect still stood. Thankfully, he seemed to catch on.

“Yeah, of course babe. I’m sorry, you know how distracted I get. Why don’t you introduce me to your new friends,” he suggested, turning around without even a second glance on Claire and slipping an arm around Dani’s waist, pulling her in close. 

He surprised her by leaning in to kiss the top of her head, but she pulled away at the last moment, putting a little distance between them, and giving him one last glare for good measure. She didn’t mean it, not really, but it was worth it to see him wrong footed and unsure of whether or not she was actually mad at him. Good. She wasn’t sure herself. This was his gig, really. He couldn’t profile if he was busy looking down some random woman’s dress… 

Her suspect didn’t seem particularly happy that Malcolm had joined them, but he surprised her by introducing himself. 

“Hi, I’m Nathan, and you are?” 

“Malcolm Bright. It's a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m so sorry, what were you saying?” Dani asked Nathan, trying to salvage the conversation they’d been having earlier.

Nathan was clearly guarded as they began talking again, although he’d perked up when she’d moved away from Bright, and it didn’t take long for him to open up once more.

***

Malcolm sighed inwardly as Dani pulled away from him once more, still upset. He wasn’t quite sure if it was an act or not, but he knew that he’d screwed up, let his concentration shift away from the job he was there to do. 

He realized immediately why Dani wanted his attention. Nathan was an interesting man, and by far the most likely to fit their profile so far this evening. Dani had good instincts and had clearly listened well when he’d described the profile. But he wasn’t ready to pull the trigger on Nathan quite yet. He was almost too suspicious, it couldn’t be that easy, and there were plenty of people they hadn’t talked to yet. 

They’d arrived around 5:00 that evening, and the formal dinner was set to begin at 7:00, in just under an hour. Each of their victims remembered beginning the meal, but they didn’t all remember finishing it, which meant that their suspect would likely drug them during or right after dinner. They still had time, but not much.

“Danielle, can I talk to you?” he whispered into Dani’s ear, running the back of his fingers up and down her arm in what he hoped was a placating manner. He didn’t have a lot of experience with winning back angry girlfriends, there didn’t tend to be any coming back from the relationship ending issues he had.

Dani sighed, dramatically, but nodded. 

“Would you excuse us, please? It was a pleasure to meet you all,” Malcolm said before pulling Dani away to an unoccupied couch. He sat, then pulled her down next to him, leaning in close. Hopefully, to any outside observers, they looked like two lovers resolving a spat, and wouldn’t be bothered.

“Are you mad at me?” he asked. It wasn’t why he’d wanted to talk, but the question slipped out before his brain caught up with his mouth.

Dani rolled her eyes. “No Malcolm, I’m not mad at you,” she assured him, and though her expression remained slightly annoyed, her voice was sincere. “Although it would be helpful if you could pay a little more attention so I don’t have to start a fight every time I need your opinion.”

Malcolm winced. “I know, I’m sorry. Claire mentioned a favorite book of mine and I just got caught up in the conversation because she actually knew what she was talking about. But, I should have been paying more attention.”

“It’s fine, Malcolm. Now, what about Nathan? Do you think he’s our guy?” Dani pressed.

“I’m not sure. It could be him, he fits the profile, but I’d like to mingle a bit more, put some more feelers out first. I’ve got a few other suspicions to run down.”

Dani nodded. She felt the same way. Malcolm stood and offered her his hand. She smiled, letting him help her to her feet. Then, on an impulse she didn’t stop to question, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

Malcolm clearly had not expected the kiss, however innocent it may have been, and his eyes widened in surprise. He recovered quickly though, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her in close when she moved to step away. Dani had the barest moment to realize what was happening, to notice the way his gaze fell to her lips, the way her body was suddenly very close to his, before he kissed her back. A real kiss, not a friendly peck on the cheek, but a solid press of his lips against hers. It wasn’t long, or hard, but it was real. No, she told herself. Not real. Part of their cover, for the case. Pull it together and don’t give yourself away. 

Malcolm stepped back, loosening his grip from her waist and sliding his hand into hers, turning back towards the rest of the guests. Neither of them said anything, but she allowed herself to study his face for a brief moment as they walked, caught the slight brush and small smile that played around his lips. She wanted to kiss him again, see that smile grow bigger and find out exactly how flushed she could make him...

Her wandering mind was brought back to the present as Malcolm inserted himself--and by extension, her--smoothly into a new group. A quick glance around the room ensured her that they could both still see Nathan from their new location, satisfying her cop instincts to keep an eye on their potential suspect.

For all his oddities and personal issues, Malcolm was very suave and incredibly charming when he wanted to be, and even when he wasn’t profiling criminals for work, his skills allowed him to easily read people and situations and insert himself into conversations in ways most people couldn’t. She’d seen him in action before, in one-on-one situations, but watching Malcolm work his magic in a group was exponentially more impressive.

Ralph and Sandra were part of their new group, and Dani grimaced slightly when she saw that Jason King was also there, though he seemed engrossed in a side conversation with a young woman who they’d met but who’s name she couldn’t recall. Nonetheless, She turned her attention to two men who she hadn’t talked to beyond basic introductions, and listened carefully to their conversation for a moment, waiting for the opportunity to insert herself somehow. They were talking about a new building being constructed, a site she walked past nearly everyday in real life, but like wouldn’t know much about as Danielle, recently arrived from D.C., which made the task of joining the conversation a tricky one. Thankfully, she didn’t have to. One of the men, a blonde who was a few inches taller than her who she’d guess to be in his upper 30’s, noticed her attention was on them and did the work for her. 

“What do you think, honey? I think it's doomed to fail, the location is terrible. My partner disagrees, probably because he invested in it. ” 

The other man, tall and very thin, swatted at his shoulder playfully. “You know I don’t invest in real estate. That doesn’t mean I can’t be optimistic.”

Dani smiled at their banter and the comfortable familiarity between them. She was pretty certain they could be both discounted as their suspect, but that was no reason to be rude and ignore them after she’d been clearly interested in their conversation only moments before.

“Truth be told I’ve only just recently arrived in the city, so I can’t really say one way or the other, but I do love to hear what the consensus seems to be.”

“Its a fucking disaster is what it is,” Jason King interjected loudly, stepping away from the woman he’d been talking to and physically inserting himself into the conversation, standing a little too close to her for comfort as he did so, and while his comment had been directed towards the two men, his eyes were on her.

“I think disaster might be a little extreme, King,” the taller man argued, rolling his eyes.

King scoffed, his voice just slightly louder than necessary, finally turning his attention away from Dani and towards the other two. His tone haughty as he replied, “We all know real estate isn’t your forte, James.”

“At least he knows enough to stay out of it, King. That much can’t be said for you. How much did you lose on your last venture?” the blonde man asked, eyebrow raised. 

Rage flared in King’s eyes, there and gone in an instant before he was forcing a smile once more, directing it at Dani and shaking his head dramatically, as if the question were ridiculous. If Dani hadn’t been making a point of paying very close attention to the interaction, she would have missed that flash of anger.. As it was, the brief intensity of it nearly caused her to take a step back. She felt Malcolm tense beside her briefly, and guessed that he had seen it, too.

“I’m sorry, this must be boring for you,” King said. “I’m sure we can find something much more interesting to talk about. Like you.”

Dani nearly choked on air at that, and while she guessed that King’s smile was meant to be charming, in reality it was smarmy, almost a leer.

James, the taller of the other men, actually grimaced at the awkward exchange, but was composed enough to try to carry on the conversation normally.

“Yes, you mentioned just recently arrived in New York?” he prompted.

“I did, yes, I lived in D.C. for several years,, but my mother asked me to move here a few months ago. I had some ulterior motives as well, though,” she admitted with a smile, wrapping her arms around Malcolm's and squeezing in an overly affectionate little hug, staring up at him with what she hoped was a starry-eyed look. She purposefully avoided looking at Jason to judge his reaction, but she could see that Malcolm was keeping an eye on him as she answered and hugged him, only looking away to smile back at her, and lean in for a quick peck on the lips for added effect. It wasn’t quite the surprise their earlier kiss had been, but her heart still skipped a beat as their lips met, and she smiled into the kiss.

James made an ‘awe’ sound at the display, giving his partner a knowing smile. Jason was not nearly as amused. “It’s a pity you met Mr. Bright in D.C. and not here in his hometown,” King said, emphasizing Malcolm’s chosen surname with a sneer. “You can get to know someone so much better when they’re surrounded by the people who really know them.”

Malcolm didn’t react to King’s jibe, though Dani could see the way his face fell slightly, and she leaned into him even more as she said, “Malcolm’s an open book, Mr. King. I know exactly who he is, and I adore him for it,” she insisted, smiling disarmingly. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, I’d like another drink.”

There wasn’t much time left before the main meal was scheduled to begin, and they had more people to talk to. Plus Dani was more than ready to part ways with Jason King.

“Well that was interesting,” Malcolm murmured into Dani’s ear as they made their way back towards the bar. “Your instincts about King may have been better than I thought.”

They were walking close together, his arm around her shoulders and her’s around his waist, their proximity allowing them to talk without being overheard, and she shivered slightly as she his breath ghosted across the sensitive shell of her ear, and she silently blamed her reaction on the ticklish way it felt and nothing else.

She wasn’t sure why King seemed to have it out for Malcolm, other than his apparent interest in Dani and whatever jealousy he may harbor towards Malcolm because of it, but it was clear that he did. 

“Whether or not he’s our guy, we should keep an eye on him,” she replied.

Malcolm nodded, an action which she felt more than saw as he leaned his head against hers.

She turned to look at him, sensing that something was off. He had a distant look in his eyes, the kind that appeared when he was too much caught up in his own head. They’d nearly reached the bar, which was much more crowded than it had been during their first visit, and she pulled him to a halt.

“Hey, Bright, what’s going on in that head of yours?” she asked, turning to face him and wrap her other arm around his waist. He settled both hands on the small of her back, and though he was looking at her, he wasn’t really seeing her, his eyes unfocused even as he answered, “Nothing, I’m fine. It’s just… guys like him are the reason I never come to these things.” He blinked once, eyes finally focusing on her’s, and he smiled sadly. “It’s nothing I’m not used to.”

Dani leant her head against his chest and hugged him tightly. She’d seen that smile on his face so many times but it never made it easier. He was so brave and he didn’t even know it, facing pain and struggle that most people couldn’t even fathom; especially the rich, entitled people like King who made up most of the Whitly’s social circle.

“You’re a good man, Malcolm Bright,” she said, stepping back from their embrace. “Now stop whining, we’ve got work to do.” She hit him lightly on the chest as she spoke, breaking the moment before the mood got too deep, or too real.

Malcolm scoffed, but he was smiling a real smile now, no longer caught up in his own head.

***

They stayed near the bar until a restaurant employee appeared to summon them all into an adjacent room for the formal dinner. Malcolm hung back as the other guests made their way towards the door, pulling out his phone to send Gil a quick text and update him on their potential suspects.

Nathan was one of them. Jason King a second, although Malcolm worried that he was letting his own personal bias against the man color his perceptions. There were two other men who met parts of the profile but not all, and he’d keep an eye on them throughout the dinner but didn’t add them to his list.

His heart began to beat faster as they made their way into the dining area. This was when their suspect was most likely to strike, it was now or never. He couldn’t afford to let himself be distracted by the petty jibes of strangers. He also couldn’t afford to be distracted by the much more enjoyable experience of being Dani’s fake boyfriend for the evening. Having her close to him all night, being able to touch her, kiss her, it was driving him crazy, in no small part due to the fact that he knew he would have to stop after this evening. All the little touches and gestures that had felt forced at the beginning of the evening were already starting to feel like second nature, like they’d been together for ages and this was just how it was between them all the time and he hated to think that it was only for a night, that after this they’d go back to being co-workers, friends at the most. Not that he wasn’t thrilled to have her as a friend. She was one of the first true friends he’d had in years, and he wouldn’t change that for anything. He would rather hold on to that friendship than risk losing it by pursuing something more.

These, right here, are the distractions you can’t afford to have tonight Malcolm, he berated himself. Almost everyone else had gone into the next room, and he and Dani joined the last few. No one was in a hurry, the guests still milling about, casually looking for their names on fancy place cards positioned in front of each seat at the three large, elaborately decorated tables positioned in the center of the room. Malcolm wasn’t sure where they’d be sitting, and he could only hope it was on one of the outer edges of the tables so that they could keep an eye on the rest of the room.

“Are you ready?” he whispered to Dani as they started to meander their way around the tables, searching for their own names.

“Definitely. Did Gil say anything?” 

“Not sure, I’ll check when we sit down. You’d think they’d have a seating chart or something,” he grumbled.

Dani snorted. “There’s only three tables, it won’t be that hard to find our spot.”

She was right, they found their assigned seats quickly, and he was relieved to find that they were seated along the outside edge of the tables, with a direct view of most of the room as well. Malcolm decided to take it as a sign that the rest of the evening would be a success. That was the only option he was willing to consider. They sat, and Malcolm took a moment to check his phone for a reply from Gil and any further guidance he may have for them. All he had was a message confirming receipt of his text and an assurance that all units were standing by outside to move in as soon as Malcolm or Dani gave the word.

Malcolm scanned the room, locating Nathan and Jason, and the other men he wanted to keep an eye on. None of them were seated yet. Each table had 10 seats, and only two other guests had sat so far at their table, though plenty of others were gathered around, still chatting. Malcolm turned in his chair to face Dani and saw that she was scanning the crowd as intently as he had been, getting her own read on the room, he was sure. She had one hand on the table, over her clutch, which held her badge and her phone, and who knew what else. He placed a hand over hers, running his thumb gently over her knuckles, smiling when she turned to look at him.

“Don’t want to be too serious,” he murmured.

She sighed, shoulders relaxing slightly. “You’re right. They might think I’m mad at you again.”

“Maybe I’m mad at you this time?” Malcolm protested.

“Impossible. I’m perfect.”

“That’s true,” Malcolm agreed, snapping his mouth shut almost immediately after the words had left his mouth, but not quite fast enough. He felt his face flush and turned his head away in hopes of hiding it from Dani.

“Malcolm,” she said, almost a whisper. He shook his head, giving her a quick glance from under lowered eyelids, his mouth quirky in a self-deprecating smile. “Don’t, not right now. Whatever you were going to say, just… wait. Please.”

Dani looked like she wanted to argue, but after a moment she pursed her lips, then nodded. “Later,” she said, and he knew it was a promise. Shit.

He took a deep breath, centering himself once more. Later. He could deal with whatever this was later. Focus, dammit.

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s get our guy, yeah? Gil said they’re standing by. Keep your eyes open, remember the profile,” he said, turning his attention back to the room at large, though he kept his hand resting over hers.

“Got it. We couldn’t have asked for a better seating arrangement, right? Clear sightlines of all the exits and guests. We’ll get him.”

The remaining guests had begun to take their seats, and Malcolm noticed with no small amount of chagrin that Claire was seated next to Dani. Claire was deep in conversation with another man when she sat and didn’t seem to notice who her neighbors were initially, but Dani gave him a pointed look nonetheless, and that was another issue they would have to address later. 

Finally all the guests were seated and the dinner service began. Jason and Nathan were seated at different tables, but fate was once more on their side and the two men were only a few yards away from each other, thanks to the arrangement of the tables. 

“Malcolm, hello again!” Claire exclaimed, seemingly noticing him for the first time, then turning to Dani, offering a hand. “And I’m so sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier, I’m Claire. You must be Danielle?”

Dani seemed surprised but shook her hand nonetheless, giving Malcolm a quick, questioning glance. Claire must have caught the look because she laughed quietly and explained, “Malcolm told me all about how you two met in D.C.”

“Oh I see. Well it's a pleasure to meet you,” Dani replied.

“I see why he was willing to wait for you, you’re gorgeous! He’s a lucky man,” Claire continued, leaning close to Dani and giving her a conspiratorial wink. 

“That’s so kind of you,” she responded with a genuine smile, the compliment and Claire’s friendly demeanor despite their earlier, somewhat awkward interaction, taking her by surprise. “Do you live in the city?”

Claire rolled her eyes. “Technically I have a house in Jersey, but I spend most of my time here so I might as well. But appearances must be maintained!” 

Dani nodded sympathetically, although she honestly could not relate at all.

Malcolm, having been clearly dismissed from their conversation, found himself keeping a close eye on their suspects. Neither of them were seated next to a women, which meant they’d have to purposefully approach their victim in order to drug them, or would have had to already arranged for the drugs to be in their food or drink. He didn’t think it would be difficult for someone with either of their financial means to pay off a restaurant employee. 

The first course came, and Malcolm found himself drawn into a conversation with his neighbor, an older gentleman Malcolm recognized from the local politics section of the paper. It was an effort to engage in the conversation while still keeping close tabs on the other men, but thankfully the man seemed most interested in bringing Malcolm up to speed on all the social gossip he’d apparently missed out on during his time in D.C., which meant that Malcolm only had to nod occasionally and look appropriately scandalized when necessary.

Dani and Claire had been chatting amiably throughout the first course and into the second, and Malcolm felt gratifyingly justified in his own, earlier distraction by the woman. She was extremely engaging, witty and well-spoken and hard to turn away from once you’d started talking to her.

They were well into the main course and nothing had happened yet, none of their suspects had done anything suspicious, and while there were far too many young women in the room to keep close track of, as far as he could tell none of them were acting out of sorts. He’d sent Gil a couple of texts, updating him on the lack of updates, and he was getting restless. What is all of their assumptions about the case had been incorrect, and they were looking in all the wrong places? He hated the idea of failing and having to return to the drawing board, essentially starting the investigation from scratch.

He was pulled from this increasingly depressing train of thought by the feel of Dani’s hand on his shoulder. He’d lost focus completely, and he could see by the expression on her face that she was waiting for a response to a question that he hadn’t heard.

“Sorry, I uh, didn’t hear what you said,” he admitted, noticing then that Claire had stood, and Dani was rising from her seat as well.

“Claire isn’t feeling well,” Dani explained, and while her words were light, the look she gave him was full of warning. He was relieved to see that she’d grabbed her clutch, which meant she’d have her phone should she need it. “I’m going to help her to the restroom. We should be right back.”

“Oh, sure. I’m sorry, do you want any help?” Malcolm asked, looking between the two women.

Claire was a little flushed, though she didn’t seem confused or unsteady on her feet. But she was pretty, young, successful, everything their rapist looked for in a victim. He didn’t like the idea of Dani going with her alone, but there was no way they could let Claire go to the restroom herself.

“No, please, I don’t want anymore fuss than necessary,” Claire insisted. “This is so embarrassing, I didn’t think I drank that much but I must have,” she explained.

“It happens, don’t think too much about it. Let’s just get you to the bathroom, okay?” Dani said.

Malcolm watched them go, keeping a careful eye on them as they made their way across the room and to the hallway leading to the restrooms. He couldn’t see the door to the bathroom itself, which was frustrating, but he would know if anyone else went into the same hallway at least.

As soon as they were out of sight he checked on Jason and Nathan. They were both still in their seats and didn’t seem to have taken any notice of Dani and Claire’s departure.

He could feel the adrenaline spiking in his body, his senses suddenly hyper-aware. It may be nothing, or it could be what they’d been waiting for all evening. And all he could do was watch and wait some more. He texted Gil a quick ‘heads up’, then sat back to wait.

“Everything alright Mr. Bright?” the man sitting next to him asked.

“Oh, yeah, it's fine. My girlfriend isn’t feeling well is all. I guess I’m a bit of a worrier.”

He phone buzzed in his hand and he checked it quickly, hoping for an update from Dani, but it was just Gil acknowledging that he and JT plus a small team were waiting outside the resaurant. Malcolm sent Dani his own text, asking if everything was okay.

More waiting. 10 minutes passed although it felt longer, then Claire reappeared from the restroom, alone. She didn’t return to their table and rather began making her way towards the exit.   
Malcolm stood immediately and moved to intercept her, catching up to her and grabbing her arm from behind before she could leave, pulling her around to face him. 

“Where’s Dani?” 

She was startled, but not by the question, he could tell. Her expression was one of fake innocence when she asked “Who? Oh, you mean Danielle?”

Malcolm ground his teeth. He’d missed something, something he was seeing now as he studied Claire’s face and the way she held herself. She was smug, as confident as ever, and completely unconcerned despite his grip on her arm or the anger in his voice. She knew. She was in on it. They’d been wrong, he’d been wrong, missing a critical piece of the puzzle.

“Where is she?” he demanded once more, shaking her slightly, struggling to keep his voice low even as anger and panic began to build. Her expression didn’t change.

He didn’t wait for an answer, she wasn’t going to give him one. He kept a firm grip on her arm, and brought up his phone, snapping a quick picture of her. That got her attention, and she let out an angry exclamation, pulling her arm free. He ignored her, pulling up Gil’s number on his phone, glancing wildly around the room as he did so.

“Gil, get up here now. Dani’s gone, he has an accomplice, Claire Bennet, I’m sending you a picture,” he said in a rush, texting the photo he’d taken, then bringing the phone back up to his ear.

Gil was speaking but Malcolm wasn’t listening, he was still looking--

“Shit, Jason King is gone. It's got to be him,” Malcolm exclaimed as he began to run towards the hallway where the bathrooms were located. 

There were three doors, two bathrooms and one marked Employees Only. Malcolm swore once more. He knocked once on the women’s bathroom before sticking his head in and calling out Dani’s name, just in case, but there was no answer. He stepped in, immediately spotting Dani’s clutch on the floor. He picked it up, and found both her phone and badge still inside.

Panic had been growing deep in his belly and now threatened to overtake him completely. How had he let this happen, he never should have let Dani go off on her own. Had she been drugged? A thousand questions and fears flooded his mind as he ran back out of the bathroom and towards the employees only door. Gil was speaking still, asking him something on the other end, yelling into his ear but Malcolm wasn’t hearing any of it.

“Gil, I messed up, but I’m going to go find her. Claire’s going to try to get away, don’t let her. She has to know something. I have to go.”

He hung up, not waiting for a response, and pushed through the door into the hallway beyond.

***

It was empty, with three doors, and an elevator at the other end. He tried the handle of the first door, but it was locked. Before he reached the second door, someone stepped out. Malcolm didn’t think, just grabbed them, him, by the lapel and shoved him against the wall. 

“Has anyone else come through here?” he asked. The man, hell he was a kid, really, shook his head, but his eyes were wide, and he glanced at the elevator before catching himself and looking away. He was lying. 

Malcolm shook him roughly, tightening his grip, stepping in to crowd him closer to the wall. “You’re lying. Tell me!” The kid just kept shaking his head, and Malcolm changed tactics, loosening his grip and softening his voice. “Look, whatever they offered you, its not going to be worth going to jail as an accessory. Tell me, and I let you go. If not, I’m going to make sure you get the longest sentence possible.”

“Accessory, what? No man, I didn’t do anything! I just let the guy use the staff elevator, that’s it!”

“Was there a woman with him?”

“Uh, well, yeah but. I mean. He just wanted to use the elevator,” the kid replied.

Malcolm scowled, shoving the kid back against the wall. 

“Which floor?”

“13, okay. 13th floor. Please just let me go man.”

“Give me your key card, and I’ll forget I ever saw you,” Malcolm said.

The kid handed it over without any hesitation, and Malcolm released him, sprinting to the elevator.

He texted Gil the floor number, then dialed the hotel front desk. “This is Malcolm Bright, with the NYPD. I need you to tell me if there is a Jason King with a room booked on the 13th floor,” he demanded as soon as the attendant answered.

“Sir, I can’t-” she began, but he cut her off.

“Look, I know you’ve seen the cops coming through the building, we’re in the middle of a critical investigation, and I need a room number, now.”

There was a moment of hesitation, and Malcolm nearly growled in frustration. He didn’t know what he was going to do if she wouldn’t give him the number, or if King had used an alias. He wasn’t that far behind, but the reality was he had no idea where King had taken Dani, and no real way of finding out in time to stop him from doing to her what he’d done to the other women.

“Please,” he whispered. He hadn’t meant to say it out loud, he wasn’t really even talking to the women on the other line, but it worked.

“Sir, I… yes, okay. There is a Jason King registered to room 1315.”

Malcolm let out a huge sigh of relief. The elevator doors opened then, and he stepped out onto the 13th floor. “Thank you. You have no idea how much help you’ve been,” he told her before hanging up. The elevator had opened into a service area of some sort, with a door across the room that led into the hallway. A quick glance at the room numbers showed him he was just a few doors away. He paused only long enough to send the room number to Gil before using the key card he’d acquired to unlock the door and push into the room.

***

By the time Dani realized that something was off, it was too late. 

She’d been caught up in her conversation with Claire, barely paying attention as she finished her salad and soup. She managed a view glances in the direction of their suspects, but they hadn’t moved the whole meal. The main course had just been brought out when Claire grew quiet and started picking at her food.

“Is everything alright?” Dani asked, noticing the change in her demeanor.

“Oh, yeah, I’m just not feeling well all of the sudden. I think I may have had too much wine,” Claire replied. 

“Are you sure?” Dani pressed, her detective instincts kicking in suddenly. Claire hadn’t been drinking that much that she had noticed.

“I’m a little dizzy, I think I might get sick. Maybe I should find the bathroom.”

“Let me go with you,” Dani suggested.

“I don’t want to be a bother,” Claire protested. She stood, faltering slightly and gripping the back of her chair. Dani could see her face was flushed as well.

“It’s not a bother. Besides, its girl code, right?” she insisted, turning to let Malcolm know where she was going.

It only took one pointed look to get his attention and to alert him to the possibility that something was going on. She knew he’d handle things on his end, though she was sure to bring her clutch with her just in case.

It wasn’t until they’d reached the bathroom that she began to get the feeling that something wasn’t right. Claire had described symptoms that were in line with the side effects of the drugs likely used on previous victims, but she wasn’t acting like she’d been drugged. She was walking steadily and didn’t seem disoriented or out of it at all. 

Dani, on the other hand, was beginning to feel warm, her head spinning slightly as they walked. She thought at first she’d just stood up too fast, but the feeling only intensified. By the time they reached the door she knew something was wrong, and she turned to go back into the main room. Claire grabbed her arm, pulling her into the bathroom and locking the door behind them.

Dani managed to pull her arm free, distancing herself from Claire, but the room was spinning around her and she had to lean against the wall to stay upright. 

“What are you doing?” she asked. Had Claire been in on it all along? “Did you drug me?”

Claire laughed, as charming as ever, and through the fog in her mind Dani realized she’d misread the other woman completely.

“You really are very pretty, Danielle. I wasn’t surprised when Jason told me about you. I was worried at first, it's never good to let things get personal, and I don’t know why by King does not like your boyfriend. But, when I saw we were sitting next to each other, it became all too easy.”

Dani could hear the words, but they didn’t make sense. She couldn’t gather her thoughts enough to put any of the pieces together. She knew something was wrong, she was… afraid? Something bad was happening but she didn’t remember what. Claire was bad. Claire had done something…

Dani found herself sinking slowly to the floor, no longer able to hold herself up. She closed her eyes to stop the room from spinning, hoping to stave off the dizziness and nausea that was threatening to overtake her.

The door opened, and a man walked in, and she recognized him but struggled to identify how or why he was familiar. He said something to Claire, their interaction was tense, short. Then he was turning to her, walking over to where she lay, picking her up.

“No, don’t… don’t touch…” she mumbled, jerking away from him and pushing against his chest ineffectively. He swatted her hand away easily, pulling her clutch out of her grip and tossing it over his shoulder.

“None of that now, Danielle. I’m not going to hurt you, there’s no reason to fight,” he said, pulling her up, draping one arm across his shoulders, half dragging her, half carrying her.

The sudden upward motion made Dani’s vision swim, the room spinning wildly before she clenched her eyes shut tight to block out the nauseating rush of motion. She slumped in the man’s arms, muscles refusing to cooperate, mind racing, but in circles only, thoughts going nowhere and everywhere at once as she lost hold of reality and drifted into blessed oblivion.

***

Malcolm had no plan, no weapon, and no real authority to do anything once he stopped King, but none of that mattered as he swiped the keycard across the electronic lock. He realized at the last moment that King had likely engaged the additional locks on the door, but as the electric lock beeped and he turned the handle and pushed the door open it swung in freely. ‘Thank god’ he thought briefly as he entered the room, eyes scanning over every inch as fast as he could, searching for any signs of King or Dani. The first room was a small sitting room, it was unlit but he could see from the light coming through the door that it was empty. A second door on the other side of the room was ajar, providing a secondary source of light that indicated it was occupied. Malcolm threw the deadbolt on the exterior door before easing it shut and creeping quickly but quietly to the second door.

He wanted to scream Dani’s name, to burst through the door and destroy anything that stood between him and her. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed to be careful, to stop and wait just a moment outside the door and listen, to ensure that this was even the right room in the first place. He listened intently, ears catching the sound of quiet murmerring, but his heart was pounding so fast and hard that the roar in his ears from his own pulse was too loud, blocking out any meaning the sounds from the other room may have had. He took a deep breath, then another, willing his heart to still, his pulse to slow so he could hear….

The voice belonged to King, of that he was certain. He couldn’t make out what he was saying, but his tone was calm and quiet, soothing almost, like one used when talking to a skittish animal.

And then Malcolm heard her sob, and the tenuous hold he had on his self-control snapped. He burst through the door, shouting King’s name before he’d even fully entered the room.

He didn’t stop moving, adjusting his trajectory as he went, as he caught sight of King, half naked on the bed, leaning over Dani…

Malcolm barreled into him, driving him to the floor before the other man could react. He landed underneath King, but used the momentum of the fall to propel the other man over him and into the nearby wall. King hit with a loud thud and sharp exhalation as the air was forced from his lungs on impact. Malcolm, too, was gasping for air after landing on his back, but it didn’t matter. He kept moving, using that same moment to roll into a crouch, regaining his balance and rising to his feet. King was slower in his recovery, but already he was shaking it off, getting his arms beneath him and pushing himself up. Malcolm kicked him in the ribs, as hard as he could, throwing him back into the wall once more. He kicked out again, but King was ready for it, and hooked an arm around Malcolm’s leg, pulling him off balance and back down to the floor. Malcolm landed on his butt, catching himself with both hands to keep from falling back, then lashed out with his free leg, catching King squarely in the face.

King let out a cry, releasing his leg to bring both hands up to protect his head. Malcolm rose to his knees over King, and punched him in the face, driving him back down to the ground once more. He pulled back, ready to deliver another punch when a barely audible ‘Bright,’ cut through the anger that had consumed his mind. He stilled, arm raised but suspended in mid air as he sucked in ragged gasps of air. 

King hadn’t moved other than to cover his head with his forearms. “What did you do to her?” Malcolm ground out, his voice threatening, strange and frightening even to him, but he didn’t care.

“Nothing, I swear. I didn’t, I only looked…” King gasped out.

Malcolm let out a growl at that, feral and dark, but he reigned in his anger. “Stay down,” he hissed out, “and maybe I’ll remember to tell the cops who are about to come through that door not to shoot you.”

King looked up at him in surprise, mouthing the word ‘cops’ before shooting a frightened look at the door.

Malcolm ignored him, standing, and turning towards the bed, really looking at Dani for the first time since entering the room, afraid of what he’d find.

Dani had pushed herself up into a sitting position, one arm supporting her while the other was wrapped tightly in a bedsheet, holding it in place just below her neck. Her eyes were wide, unfocused as her gaze shifted between him and King. A quick glance showed him that her dress was pooled around her hips, the skirt pushed up above her knees but no further. He closed his eyes, physically fighting the urge not to turn back to King and beat him to death. Dani was more important, and she needed him.

He went to her, reaching out slowly, resting a tentative hand on her shoulder, slowly lowering himself to sit on the bed beside her. “Dani, hey, I’m here. You’re okay,” he assured her softly. She startled at his touch, finally focusing her eyes one his face.

“Bright, what-? What’s wrong with me?” she asked. Her voice was soft, confused and scared and Malcolm felt another surge of anger course through him. 

The only time he’d seen her anywhere near this vulnerable was during their first case together, when Carter Berkhead had taken her by surprise and managed to incapacitate her. Even then, though she was down she hadn’t been out of the fight. But now, she was completely defenseless and it broke him just a bit inside. It wasn’t right, so unlike her to be so weak and vulnerable, and he hated King for bringing her to that point.

He stripped off his jacket quickly, draping it over her shoulders protectively.

“Hang in there, okay Dani? You were drugged, but you’re going to be okay. You probably won’t even remember this tomorrow,” he assured her with a humorless laugh.

She still looked confused, and he doubted she understood what he was saying, but she shifted her weight, wrapping the arm she’d been supporting herself with around his waist and leaning into him for support instead. It surprised him, and he stiffened slightly at first, unsure of how to respond before wrapping an arm around her in return.

“Why is everything moving so fast?” she muttered, squeezing her eyes shut.

He winced in sympathy, and suspected that she was still struggling to fight the effects of the drugs, and she was making herself even more confused and dizzy because of it.

“Hey, Dani. I know you don’t want to, but you need to let go. It's okay to stop fighting now, alright?” he urged gently. “You’ll feel a lot better, and I won’t let anything happen to you. You can let go.” He hoped his assurances would get through to her, that she’d understand and let the drugs run their course, that she could trust him enough to listen.

She relaxed against him, finally, tension seeping from her body as she allowed herself to drift and stopped struggling against the effects of the drugs. Her grip on his waist loosened, her head resting fully on his shoulder, eyes closed, face slack, and Malcolm suspected that she may have passed out, her body finally giving in after fighting for so long.

King was stirring slightly, making an attempt at slinking away. Malcolm refused to leave Dani’s side, but he gave him the darkest glare that he could muster. 

“You know who my father is, King. You made that abundantly clear earlier this evening. Do not think, for one second, that I will hesitate to call my boss, who is one his way here right now, and tell him to shoot you on sight. And if you think, for one second, that he won’t do it after what you did to one of his officers, you’re more of an idiot than I thought.”

“One of his… your boss? Officers?” King sputtered.

“Dani’s a cop, and I’m a consultant for the NYPD. There are officers on their way here right now, and they know exactly who you are, and what you’ve done, tonight, and every other time before.”

King paled, deflating visibly and sinking back down to the floor.

“I didn’t know…” he whispered.

“It doesn’t matter,” Malcolm bit out. “It doesn’t matter that she’s a cop. It doesn’t make her any more important, or what you did any worse than what you did to those other women, and I’m going to do everything in my power to see that you go away for a very long time. Maybe I can convince the judge you need psychiatric care, have you sent to Clairemont. You could meet my father. I’d love to tell him all about you.” 

King shrank away, scooting into a corner as far from Malcolm as he could get.  
Malcolm had never used his father as a threat before, he usually tried to avoid any mention of their relationship at all costs. But King had started it, had taunted Malcolm for who he was throughout the evening, and Malcolm reveled in the opportunity to turn that against him, to turn a feral grin, reminiscent of so many of his father’s smiles on the man.

Before he could say anything more, chaos fell upon the room. JT burst through the door, identifying himself loudly as police, followed by two other uni’s. Dani startled slightly at the sudden noise, clutching tighter to him and burrowing her head in his shoulder, though she didn’t seem to rouse completely.

Malcolm breathed a sigh of relief, letting himself truly relax for the first time that evening, turning away from where the the uni’s were cuffing King and reading him his rights to greet the other members of his team.

His greeting died in his throat as he saw the murderous expression on JT’s face, which was now directed at him, and noticed that he hadn’t quite lowered his gun all the way. Malcolm brought both hands up placatingly.

“Whoa, JT. Settle down. She’s fine, okay. She’s drugged, but she’s okay. He didn’t… I got here in time. He didn’t touch her. I didn’t touch her,” he assured the other man.

JT lowered his gun fully, flipping on the safety, but he continued to glare at Malcolm with a look that could most definitely kill.

“You call that not touching?” he asked, giving Malcolm a pointed look.

Malcolm shook his head, though he refused to leave Dani’s side just to placate whatever big brother protection instincts had taken over JT’s brain for the moment. “JT, you know me better than that. Dani needed to know she was safe. That’s. It.”

JT nodded, shaking his head once, holstering his gun and letting out a loud sigh.

“Bright, shit. Sorry man, I was just so worried when Gil told me, my head wasn’t on straight.”

“I get it, it's fine. Thanks for not shooting me on sight. Are there medics on site? I think Dani should go to the hospital just in case.”

“They’re on their way. I radioed for them right before we came in.”

“Where’s Gil?”

“With Claire. God, she’s a piece of work.”

“You got that right. She’s a psychopath.”

“You got that right.”

“No, I mean, literally. I’m almost certain she possesses the qualities of a true psychopath. They’re harder to detect in women, but they exist.”

“Whatever man, as long as she goes to jail.”

Malcolm chuckled. “She will. I’ll make sure of it. King too. Also, there was a hotel employee assisting King. I can ID him once the medics get here.”

“I think we have him already. Young guy, acting shifty?”

“That’s the one,” Malcolm confirmed.

Finally the medics arrived, carefully shifting Dani onto a stretcher. One of them was a young woman who carefully arranged Dani’s dress back into place beneath Malcolm’s jacket before they laid her down on the stretcher. 

“Thank you,” Malcolm whispered to her as he slowly slipped free from Dani’s grasp.

“Are there any injuries we should be aware of?” the medic asked.  
“No, I don’t think so. She was drugged, some sort of date rape drug. But I don’t think she- he said he didn't touch her,” Malcolm replied.

“Okay. We’ll get her hydrated, try to flush her system as fast as we can. She’ll be okay.”

Malcolm stood, eager to follow the medics as they carried her from the room, but his legs gave out beneath him and he nearly fell to the floor.

“Shit, you alright?” JT asked, rushing to his side.

Malcolm sat on the bed once more, taking a moment to gather himself.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I promise,” he insisted when JT gave him an unimpressed look. “I’m just coming down from the adrenaline rush. Really, I’m fine.”

“Alright man. Let’s go get Gil, and head to the hospital. Dani will want you there when she wakes up,” JT said, offering Malcolm his hand.

Malcolm took it gratefully, accepting it as an apology and peace offering for the cop’s earlier aggression.

“Thanks. And you’re wrong, she’ll want all of us there. You, Gil, you’re her family.”

JT snorted. “That may be, but she’s got a soft spot for you, Bright. Don’t pretend like you don’t know, with that freaky mind reading thing you do.”

Malcolm smiled, shaking his head at the description. “We look out for each other.”

They’d reached the main elevator, not the staff one he’d ridden before, and JT hit the button for the first floor, then turned to fix Malcolm with a serious look.

“Bright, whatever is going on between you, just know that if you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

Malcolm was taken aback slightly, not by the threat--that, he expected--but by the fact that JT thought there was something between them.

“Hurting her is the last thing I want to do. Which is why there isn’t anything between us. I tend to ruin everything I touch,” Malcolm replied, whispering the last sentence like a confession.

“Look, Bright. Dani’s smart, and she’s tough. She’s been through some shit. If she thinks she can handle your shit, then she can. Don’t underestimate her. And don’t push her away. We all know you wouldn’t hurt her on accident. Just make sure you don’t do it on purpose.”

Malcolm was left at a loss for words as the elevator arrived and JT stepped in, jamming his finger against the door open button. “Come on, kid. Your lady awaits.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the longest thing I have ever written and I will be the first to admit that it is probably much longer than it needs to be, because I have zero editing skills and put zero planning into what was actually going to happen in this story as far as an outline or anything is concerned. So, I apologize.
> 
> I seriously considered scrapping the whole thing and starting over but honestly it was a good learning experience for me as a writer so it I kept it the way it was. I do plan on revisiting the story in the future and editing it down, getting rid of the unnecessary parts and turning it into a better, more fluid story, but for now I'm just proud of myself for finishing it.
> 
> I do have at least one more chapter planned (a brief epilogue, I promise it won't be long), and then at least one more part to the series that will be much more fun, with lots of fluff and maybe (hopefully) some smut. :) 
> 
> To everyone who actually read this whole story and these notes... thank you. Seriously. I know it wasn't anything close to the best thing ever written and I'm seriously grateful you stuck with me through what was honestly a completely self-indulgent learning experience. I promise to do better in the future!


	4. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dani and Malcolm deal with the aftermath of their evening.

Dani couldn’t remember falling asleep. She must have, though, because she was definitely waking up now, with no idea of where she was, how she had gotten there or how long she’d been out. Everything was a blur, and yet she found that she wasn’t worried. She sensed, somewhere in the back of her mind, that this lack of information about her current situation should concern her, but it didn’t. The last thing she remembered was just a feeling, but it was a good feeling. She’d felt safe, and so she wasn’t worried. She was just tired, and wondered why she’d even woken up in the first place when she felt like she could sleep for another week.

Wherever she was, it was dark; another reason to keep sleeping since it was clearly night time. She was in a bed. She looked around as best she could without moving her head--too much effort--and even in the dim light and the fog of sleep that still clouded her mind she realized she was in a hospital bed, in a hospital room. Maybe that should be concerning? It seemed like it should but she just… didn’t care. She wasn’t in pain. She wasn’t uncomfortable or afraid. Just tired. Whatever had happened before could wait until the morning.

Within moments of waking her eyes started to grow heavy and fall closed once more. As she drifted off she caught sight of a chair in the corner of her room, where someone sat--dressed to the nines, head bowed, face barely illuminated by the low light of a cell phone screen, long hair falling in front of his face--and any remaining fear or worry she’d had melted away as she realized that Malcolm was there and she had nothing to worry about.

***

When Dani woke up again morning had come and with it a measure of clarity that had been lacking when she’d woken during the night. 

The first thing she realized was that she was alone. There was a chair in the corner, but it was empty, and she couldn’t help but question the reality of what she’d seen in her brief moment of wakefulness--if Bright had truly been there or if she’d imagined it. So, Dani worked on putting what fragmented memories she had together in her mind. 

What she remembered for certain was being at the dinner, with Malcolm, hunting down a serial rapist who drugged their victims. She remembered being with another woman and being concerned but beyond that point her mind was foggy and unclear. She could reasonably assume that she had been drugged at some point in the night, an assumption which was confirmed by vague recollections--not memories, more like impressions--of feelings of confusion and anger and helplessness. 

Despite these clear impressions she somehow knew that she was okay, because along with those darker feelings came feelings of relief and safety. That, coupled with the fact that her room was lacking concerned father figures and pseudo big brothers and... whatever Malcolm was to her now… allowed her to make some deductions. Yes, she’d been drugged. Yes, the bad guy had gotten to her, but.  
She was okay. 

Malcolm had been there, her team had been there, and she was okay, and they were probably off doing whatever they needed to do to make sure that whoever it had been--she honestly couldn’t recall--was being put away for good.

Okay, so it would be nice if someone were here, she admitted to herself. Waking up alone in the hospital was a remarkably lonely experience, she began to realize.

A nurse walked in then, and smiled when he saw that she was awake. “Good morning, Detective Powell. My name is Kyle and I’ll be looking after you this morning. How are you feeling?”

“Okay, thanks. I think,” Dani replied, returning his smile. “Aside from the gaping hole in my memory of whatever the hell happened to end me up here,” she added. 

“That’s to be expected. You were dosed with a pretty potent mix of drugs. But, they should be out of your system now, with no lingering effects. Are you feeling alright otherwise? Do you need anything to drink?”

“Water would be great actually, thank you. Um, how long do I have to stay here?” Dani asked. She honestly felt fine and was more concerned with getting caught up on exactly what the hell had happened the night before than remaining in the hospital by herself.

“You should be fine to leave this morning. I’ll check in with the attending physician, get your paperwork up to speed and we’ll release you as soon as we can. Meanwhile, let me get you that water”

He stepped out of the room but returned shortly with a hospital issued plastic cup full of ice water, which he gave her before running a quick check of her vitals, chatting amiably as he worked, then leaving once more.

Dani looked around the room to see if anyone had left her phone out for her when she’d been brought in the night before, but she didn’t see it, or any of her other personal belongings. She was about to get up and look harder when Kyle returned along with a woman in a lab coat who introduced herself as Dr. Jennings, the attending physician. She gave Dani a quick but thorough physical and mental examination, having her stand and walk around the room, checking vitals once more and asking her questions throughout. It took about five minutes, and Dani was relieved when they finished and the doctor told her she was cleared to leave.

“Do you have someone who can come get you?” Kyle asked after the doctor had left.

“Yeah, I should. I was looking for my phone earlier, actually?” 

Kyle nodded, bending down to reach for something under her bed, then standing a placing a white plastic bag on the bed next to her.

“Here are your things, if you had it on you when you came in, it will be in there. Take your time, if you want to change there’s a bathroom right there,” he pointed towards the door next to her bed. “Once you’re ready be sure to see the nurse at the desk, they’ll get you checked out. Feel free to hit the call button if you need anything, alright?”

“Thank you, I’ll do that,” Dani agreed, taking the bag and ruffling through it even before the nurse finished speaking.

“Oh, wait. Do you have anything else I could wear? I’m not exactly interested in going home in an evening gown,” she explained. 

Kyle nodded, promising to see what he could find, then left.

Her dress and stilettos were in the bag, but her clutch was missing, and with it, her phone. She had Gil’s number memorised, and the number for the precinct. She sighed, resigning herself to the fact that she’d have to call them from the hospital phone. Maybe they’d expected her to sleep later, or to be held for a longer period. She knew there was a reason, but it still sucked.

She used the restroom, splashing some water on her face to help clear out the last lingering bits of fog that were lingering in her mind.

When she came out of the bathroom Malcolm was there. He was standing just inside the door, a to go cup in one hand, and a familiar looking gym bag in the other. He’d changed, wearing one of the most casual outfits she’d ever seen him in. He looked confused as he looked at her empty bed, but as she stepped out of the restroom and he caught sight of her he broke out in a large smile, holding the cup out to her.

“You’re awake!”

Dani returned his wide smile, walking over to take the offered cup.

“I brought tea! And your phone! And some clothes for you. I grabbed your go bag from the precinct, I hope that’s okay,” he explained.

Dani took the bag, too, but her eyes never left Bright’s face. She couldn’t bring herself to look away from the happy, unguarded expression he wore as he spoke.

“Thank you, Bright, that was really thoughtful. I really didn’t want to have to go home in scrubs or lost and found clothes.”

“Are they discharging you already?”

“Yep, the doctor gave me the all clear so I can leave anytime.”

“That’s great! I’m sorry no one was here when you woke up. Gil and JT left a little bit ago, they’re wrapping up the case. I went back to the precinct with them to get your bag.”

Something in Dani’s chest loosened as she listened to Bright’s hurried explanation. She took a seat on the edge of her bed, dropping the bag but cradling the warm tea to her chest. She knew, of course, that the team wouldn’t have left her in the hospital alone for long, but to know that Bright had been thinking about her comfort all along, that he’d gone through the trouble of hunting down her go bag and getting her tea, that she had not expected.

“Are you okay?” Bright asked her, his expression clouding over with concern.

“What? Oh, yeah, I’m good. Really, I am, just got a little wrapped up in my own head there. I don’t think I’m firing on all cylinders quite yet.”

“That’s understandable,” Bright mused, wandering away from her as he launched into an explanation. “Even after the drugs have left your system, your brain will need time to recover. There will probably be some residual fogginess or confusion.”

“And memory loss,” Dani added, tilting her head to the side and fixing him with a pointed look.

Bright looked up at her in surprise, the expression quickly shifting to one of guilt.

“Of course! I should have known, I didn’t even think about-” he paused, eyes narrowing as he gazed at her in consideration. “You’re handling all of this very well,” he observed.

“Oh, believe me, I have questions, and I expect to be filled in in the very near future. But I know you, I know my team. If I had been-” She paused. Talking about it made it suddenly seem more real, and it hit her what could have happened to her, what had happened to those other women. 

“But I wasn’t, right? So, we did our jobs. And I’m alright,” she concluded. 

Her declaration seemed to have the opposite effect on Bright than she’d been going for. His expression fell, guilt evident in his wide blue eyes. 

“Dani,” he murmured, her name a soft exhalation. His eyes fell closed as he gathered himself to continue. “I should have known, I should never have let-- when you didn’t come back… “

Dani held up a hand, stopping whatever rabbit trail of guilt Malcolm was about to take himself down. “Bright, I honestly don’t want to deal with this right now. I want to change, and I want some breakfast. I want to go home and take a shower. Then we will talk, alright?”

Malcolm huffed and he managed a small, self-deprecating smile. “You’re right, I’m sorry. All of that can wait. Why don’t I take you home, and order you some breakfast while you get cleaned up?”

“You don’t have to babysit me, Bright,” Dani insisted.

“I know, and I’m not. But, you deserve to be looked after. You went through a lot. And, maybe I’m still a little on edge and would feel more comfortable knowing for sure that you made it home,” he admitted.

Dani rolled her eyes, but nodded in agreement, grabbing her bag and starting for the little bathroom. “All right. I’ll be ready soon,” she called over her shoulder. “And you should know that I’m expecting some high end breakfast now, since you’re buying.”

Malcolm laughed, “Of course. I wouldn’t dream of offering you anything less.”

***

As promised, breakfast was waiting for her when Dani was done with her shower (a very long, very hot shower) and changed into her favorite pair of yoga pants and oversized sweater. 

Malcolm was standing in her kitchen, his back to her, looking thoughtfully at the pictures covering her refrigerator, and there were two bags sitting on her little kitchen table which she assumed to be full of food. Her stomach suddenly rumbled loudly, the thought of food bringing her hunger to the forefront of her mind as she made her way over to the kitchen. 

“What are you doing?” she asked Bright as she began rifling through one of the bags.

“Uh, plates?” he replied guiltily. She gave him an unimpressed look. “Sorry. I mean, I was looking for plates, but I got distracted. I didn’t think it counted as snooping if I was looking at pictures you had out anyways.”

“Its fine, Bright. Look away. Plates are in the cupboard to your right.”

She was honestly surprised he’d kept his snooping contained to her refrigerator door. It was his first time at her place, and she was sure he had to be dying of curiosity.

He returned to the table with two plates and passed one to her.

“I know this isn’t exactly the gourmet breakfast you were probably hoping for,” he said, waving his hand at the items now strewn across the table.

There were several bagels and other pastries, a container of fresh fruit, and little tubs of cream cheese and butter. There was also a carton of orange juice with a fancy label indicating a brand Dani had never even heard of. She recognized the logo on the paper bags holding the pastries, though. It was a high end bakery and cafe just outside of her neighborhood.

“It's perfect, Bright.”

“I thought it would be better to have something light, to start with,” Malcolm continued, either not having heard Dani or not believing that she was satisfied with his choices. “If you’re really disappointed I’ll take you out for dinner.”

“Bright, really, its fine, I promise,” Dani insisted, choosing to ignore the fact that he’d offered to take her out for dinner. “Believe it or not, this is high end to me. I’d never even dream about getting my morning bagel from these guys, so thank you.”

Bright gave her a small, pleased smile, then stepped around the table and wrapped her in a hug.

Which Dani was not expecting. 

She froze, hands coming up in surprise, but then her brain caught up with her body and she let herself relax, returning the hug although without the same desperation that Malcolm’s embrace had. He was clinging to her like he had that day in the precinct after waking from a night terror, face buried in her neck, hands clenched in her sweater.

He didn’t say anything, and after a moment he stepped away, ducking his head but not before she caught sight of the way his cheeks had flushed. He stuck his hands in his pockets, hunching his shoulders.

“Sorry,” he murmured, looking up at her from under lowered eyelids. “I just- I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Dani smiled softly at him, shaking her head slightly in amusement. “Bright, stop apologizing for things. Now sit down, I’m starving, and you have some details to fill me in on.”

Malcolm nodded, taking a seat and filling his plate with mostly fruit and one small pastry.

“Right, yeah. Where to begin?” 

“How ‘bout with who dunnit? I honestly remember nothing after sitting down for dinner.”

“It was Jason King. But, he had an accomplice. Claire. Gil and JT are still trying to figure out exactly what their relationship is, but I have my suspicions already,” Malcolm explained, walking her through the basics of what had happened after she’d left the dinner.

Dani ate as he spoke, pausing finally to ask, “Claire? But, why would she…? Is she complicit in all three rapes?”

“We’re not sure, but I’m sure we’ll know by the end of the day. But, that’s how they drugged you without either of us noticing. We, I, was so focused on King and Nathan, it never occured to me that there could be someone else involved. I should have known, should have seen it.”

“Bright, there’s no way you could possibly have known. If Claire did drug me, she did it without me ever noticing, right under my nose.”

Malcolm shook his head, unconvinced.

Dani sighed, then reached over to place a hand on top of his. “Listen, Bright. I really am fine. And, honestly. We got lucky. If Claire had gone after someone else, we never would have known. The fact that it happened to me is the only reason we caught them before they could hurt anyone else. And I’m okay with that.”

Malcolm stared at her in surprise, mouth opening and closing again as he processed what she’d said. He glanced down at where her hand rested on his, brows furrowing slightly. Dani began to pull away, but he slipped his thumb over her fingers, holding on.

“I know it's your job. I know you’re alright. You’re so strong. But, if anything hand happened to you… When I walked in that room and saw King touching you. I wanted to kill him. I would have, if he’d hurt you I think I would have killed him,” Malcolm admitted, his voice growing softer with each admission.

She watched as he struggled through a range of emotions, each one so easy to read in his eyes, his face like an open book as he spoke. She saw his anger, but also the lingering guilt, and confusion, too, at the depth of his emotions, and fear. She didn’t respond at first, unsure of what to say. But she reached over to clasp his hand in both of hers, rubbing her thumb gently along the bruised knuckles she hadn’t noticed before.

“King?” she asked softly.

“Yeah.”

“You did what you had to.”

“You stopped me. If you hadn’t, I don’t know what I would have done, how far I would have gone.”

“You did what you had to,” Dani insisted, louder, more firmly. “And he deserved it.” She let the slightest bit of her own anger seep into her voice. 

She hadn’t really let herself feel anything yet. But when Bright had mentioned seeing King touch her, her imagination took hold and she could feel herself growing more angry. But she wasn’t going to let Bright see that, not yet. He had enough weight on his shoulders already. He needed to see that she was fine.

Bright looked up at her, meeting her gaze and she wanted to look away before he pulled her in too deep with those damned blue eyes of his, but she returned his stare, letting her own eyes speak the words she wasn’t even sure she had at the moment. She didn’t know what he saw, but he smiled at her again, soft and small and her heart fluttered in her chest.

“Which brings us to our next topic of conversation,” she muttered under her breath.

“What?” Bright asked, head tilting in confusion like a puppy.

“Um. Oh boy-”

A phone rang, interrupting her. 

“Thank god,” she sighed.

Malcolm pursed his lips. “We will come back to this,” he promised, though it was more of a threat.

“Gil, what’ve you got?”

He stepped into the other room, pacing as he took in whatever it was Gil had to say.

Dani finished her bagel and began to straighten up the table as he talked, trying to quiet the thoughts racing through her mind. She liked him. She liked him alot. She thought he liked her, too. It was probably better to just address it, before he made it weird with his frustrating ability to read her like a book when she wasn’t careful. And she didn’t want to hide her feelings from him if he felt that same way.

Malcolm ended his call and returned to the kitchen. “Gil wants to know if you’re up to going down to the precinct to make a statement? He told me to bribe you with more details on the case if you went.”

Dani scoffed. “As if he wouldn’t tell me if I asked. But yes, fine, I’ll go. Just let me finish cleaning up.” She turned to put the leftovers in her fridge, but Malcolm caught her wrist, stopping her.

“Great, but first, what were you going to say before Gil called?”

***

Malcolm caught Dani’s wrist, stopping her from turning away from him and avoiding his question. He held her lightly, but he could feel her pulse beating against his fingertips, feel the way it quickened as she met his eyes and didn’t look away.

“Bright, do you really want to do this now?” she asked, voice barely more than a whisper.

He looked away first, suddenly unsure, releasing her wrist and shoving both hands in his pockets. “I-- yeah. I mean, if you really don’t want to we don’t have to, but I do. I just want to know,” he replied.

He knew she was attracted to him--he’d seen it in her eyes, the signs clear in the way her pupils dilated and her skin flushed or her breathing sped up. But attraction, arousal, was fickle. It didn't necessarily mean anything beyond a purely physical reaction. He needed to know, and he needed her to tell him, he didn’t want to try to pry it from her through clever questions and intuitive deductions.

“Know what, Bright? What do you want me to say?”

Bright sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. There was no reason this should be so hard, they were both adults for god’s sake.

“I like you, Dani,” he admitted. “You are one of my best friends. You’ve accepted and supported me and made me feel normal.”

He’d thought a lot about what he would say next as he’d been sitting next to her hospital bed in the dark room, with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. He hadn’t been able to go to the hospital with her, there were too many loose ends and questions to tie up at the hotel and statements to make at the Precinct. But as soon as he could he’d gone to see her. She was asleep already, not surprisingly. But he didn’t care, he sat in her room and he thought about her, and about them.

“I can’t lose you, Dani. Not as a friend, or a teammate. You keep me sane. So if you don’t feel the same way tell me now. I’ll never say another word about it, and nothing has to change.”

He kept his head up, refusing to look away or act ashamed of his feelings. But his heart felt like it had stopped in his chest as he finished speaking and stood waiting for a response. He hoped she felt the same, but if not he would move on, like he’d said. But the prospect of losing her friendship, her trust, terrified him.

“Bright, I would never stop being your friend just because you told me how you feel,” Dani said, her expression sincere.

Malcolm sighed, ducking his head, relieved but also disappointed. He’d hoped she’d felt the same, but could understand why she wouldn’t.

“Hey, look at me,” Dani whispered, slipping a finger under his chin and lifting it gently,

He did, self-deprecating smile already in place, ready for the pity and customary ‘it’s not you its me,’ though he knew in his case that was never true. It was always him.

Neither of those happened. Instead, Dani leaned in and kissed him softly, gently resting her hand against his cheek. It lasted only a moment before she broke the kiss, though she didn't pull away and instead rested her forehead against his.

“I like you too, Bright. I trust you. I’d like to see where this could go,” she confessed.

Malcolm pulled away, a grin slowly spreading across his face as he searched Dani’s eyes for any sign of doubt or misgivings, but there were none.

“I’d like to take things slow, though,” Dani continued. “My last relationship didn’t end well. It didn’t go well, period. And I don’t want to rush into this only to have it blow up in our faces.”

“I agree! Completely. I know I’m not easy to… be with. I don’t want either of us to be uncomfortable.”

“And we should probably keep it on the down low. Whatever it is,” Dani suggested. “At least for now?”

“That’s fine. I think you’re right.”

Malcolm’s phone began to ring again, and he groaned. 

“Oh no, Gil. He’s going to want to know where we are.”

“Tell him I’m moving slow today. He’ll understand.”

“Perfect. I love it when I can blame other people,” Malcolm exclaimed with an exaggerated eye roll before finally answering his phone. As soon as he picked up though, he found himself tuning Gil out, providing only monosyllabic answers as he looked across the room to where Dani was on her own phone, calling a cab. He couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he watched her, and when she turned and caught him staring she smiled back, laughing at him quietly as he blushed, with Gil berating his inattentiveness on the other end of the line.

“We’re on our way, Gil. Be there soon,” he finally said, interrupting whatever the older man had been saying. He reached a hand out to Dani, and she took it, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, endings are hard to write. 
> 
> Thanks so much for sticking with me through this whole thing! It was so much longer than I expected. So. Much. I appreciate everyone who read it though!
> 
> This whole thing was hard to write. I definitely feel like I bit off more than I was ready to chew. I will probably be revisiting this story in the future and cleaning it up a bit and making it more of what I wanted it to be but didn't always manage to quite get it right.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think, I'm always happy for any feedback and constructive criticism.
> 
> Also if anyone has any tag suggestions please tell me because I am hopeless when it comes to making my own.


End file.
